


Sodor in Harmony

by GalacticDefender4679



Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Genre: F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 00:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 51,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18981070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticDefender4679/pseuds/GalacticDefender4679
Summary: Custom collage of short snippets I've come up with.





	1. The Return of an Old Friend

Once upon a time, there was a little island nestled in the Irish sea between Western England and the Isle of Man. It was called the Island of Sodor. Hundreds of holiday-makers come to visit the island every year to see its rolling hills, its majestic coastlines, and of course, its railways, the most popular of all of them being the North-Western Railway, famous for its special engines, all of whom had faces, names, personalities, and everything in-between.

One day, the yard at Knapford Station was very busy as summer always brought more vacationers than most seasons. The engines were servicing increasingly more traffic from all over the island; the harbors, the airport, the narrow gauge, minimum gauge, and mountain railways, and it didn’t look like it was going to slow down any time soon. So, the railway’s number 2; a blue FR K2 “Larger Seagull” tender engine named Edward, was forced to work extra in the shunting yard nearby, moving incoming trucks to be unloaded and preparing new trains to be taken to Barrow-in-Furness in England.

The station crew was busy too, making sure trains were going to the right places, and that passengers had the proper tickets for where they were going. One girl was being kept especially busy, sweeping the platform, and hooking up trains. She had red hair streaked with yellow, and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue blouse with a yellow skirt and leather jacket, along with a pair of jeans and high-heeled boots. Her name was Jessica Saunders, the granddaughter of Edward’s late driver, but her mother had always told her that she was born right at sunset, as the sun shimmered away over the horizon, so she took Sunset Shimmer as her nickname.

“Come on, Sunset, perk up,” said Edward, shunting a goods train to platform 4. “A few more weeks and you’ll be back to your normal routine.” Sunset had always been a troublemaker, not above intimidating people to get what she wanted, but she had changed after being on a special punishment for four years. She only had a few weeks left, but honestly, she liked being one of the first people on Sodor visitors saw, so she figured she’d come by often after this. Not to mention, she was missing someone.

“I know, Edward,” she said, sitting down on a bench near the old engine. “It’s just that… I haven’t seen her in four years. Not since she went to college in London. How long do you think it’ll be until she gets back?”

“If I’m right,” said a voice. “Not long at all.” The two looked and saw Edward’s old friend Trevor, an old-fashioned dark green traction engine rumbling up on the road, hauling a wood cart into the yard.

“Trevor! Good to see you out of the orchard, old friend,” said Edward as he pulled onto a siding near him. “How are things going up there?”

“Goin’ fine, Eddie,” someone said in a thick Southern American accent. “Just got the first bumper-crop of the season.” Sunset knew that voice anywhere. She looked and saw a familiar girl jumping off Trevor’s cart. She had a tan that made her skin look bright orange with freckles on her cheeks, straw blonde hair held in a ponytail by a red hair-tie under a brown Stetson hat, and bright green eyes. She was wearing an orange gingham shirt tied into a knot to expose her muscular stomach, a red neckerchief tied around her neck, a denim skirt, and a pair of brown cowboy boots with three red apple patches on each. Her family had moved up to the island from Oklahoma before she was born, and they’d been working the Vicarage Apple Orchard ever since. Her name was Abigail Jacqueline Smith, but that was too much of a mouthful, so she shortened it to her nickname, Applejack.

“That’s great news, Applejack,” said Sunset, hugging her friend before seeing the wood in Trevor’s cart. “So, what’s all this for?”

“Well, I figured that even some big city-slicker from London must have a taste for the finer things the country has to offer,” said Applejack. “So, Granny sent me up here with this stuff so’s I could sell it to the folks from the Wild Nor’ Wester’ today.” Then something struck her. “We are still callin’ it that, right?”

“Yep,” said Sunset. “So, you need any help?”

“Oh. All I can get,” she replied, sounding like Gene Wilder from “Blazing Saddles”. The two friends laughed for a moment at the quote before they set to work setting up a small booth loaded with apple brown betties and a keg of apple cider on the side with a paper cup dispenser nearby. Then Sunset went to get approval for the stand from the stationmaster.

The current stationmaster at Knapford was a bit stubborn, so it took some haggling. Okay, a lot of haggling, where in the end, they were not able to come to a consensus, but the noise of their bickering led the director of the NWR out of his office. He was a bald stout gentleman with blue eyes in a suit and tie with a yellow dress vest and top hat. His name was Sir Richard Topham Hatt, but most knew him as the Fat Controller. He didn’t mind the title. In fact, he liked it as it was that of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather, who were all controllers of the railway long ago.

“What’s going on here?” he asked.

“Sorry about this, Sir,” said Sunset. “I’m just trying to get Applejack clearance for her booth. She set it up for the passengers from the express.”

“And I’m trying to tell her,” said the stationmaster. “That we cannot take up platform space for something so menial.”

“Nonsense, Johnson,” said the controller. “Anything that helps comfort our passengers is allowed in one of my stations. She can keep it open for as long as she likes.”

“Thank you, Sir,” said Sunset and she went back to the booth and told Applejack. Then she saw another of their friends walking out of the station shop carrying a rather large bag.

She had flawless skin, long curly purple hair, and azure eyes surrounded by light cornflower-colored eyeshadow. She was wearing a sapphire necklace with three hanging in front, cut like diamonds, along with a white dress shirt and a purple skirt with a black belt, along with purple pumps. Her name was Rachelle Belle, but since she always liked rare gems, creating unique clothing patterns and things like that, she took the nickname Rarity. Then she noticed the stall.

“My, my,” she spoke with a cultivated trans-Atlantic accent, like Katharine Hepburn, as she walked over. “I must say, Applejack, you always do know how to operate right off the bat.”

“Thanks, Rarity,” said the American, moving a covered metal tray onto the counter. “Wanna try somethin’ new?”

“Well, I suppose that depends on what it is,” she said. Applejack smirked and removed the serving dome from the tray, revealing an array of thin slices of apple that looked baked, not only from the color, but also from the steam wafting off them.

“Fresh from the oven, the Smith family’s brand new crispy apple chips,” she said. “Help yourselves.”

“Oh, why thank you,” said Rarity, taking one off the tray. “But I can’t just eat this without paying for it. Here.” Then she placed a coin on the counter. Applejack picked it up and was surprised.

“Fivepence? For one?” she asked. “That’s generous even for you. We were planning to sell packs of these things for ten each at market next month.”

“Well, I’m sure we all know that generosity is just my nature,” Rarity replied before taking a bit out of the chip. She chewed it for a minute before she was taken aback from the taste. “Le incroyable! It’s delicious.” Sunset was curious, so she passed Applejack two pennies and took one, taking a bite and getting the same flavor rush.

“Whoo! Man, that hits you fast,” she remarked. “What’s in these things?”

“Uh, lemme think,” said Applejack thoughtfully. “Cinnamon, butter, and I think Granny might’ve thrown in a splash of brandy to give it some extra kick. Then you throw ‘em in the oven for about fifteen minutes and boom! There ya go.”

“Well, it is certainly something I wouldn’t mind having a few times a day,” said Rarity.

“Amen to that,” said Sunset, as the two finished their chips. Then they heard a high-pitched whistle. They looked out of the yard to see the railway’s number 6, a green Avonside 0-4-0ST saddle tank named Percy rumbling in with two red vans behind him that said, “Sodor Mail” on the side. He steamed into platform 2 and a rather loony girl jumped out of the brakevan.

She had light cerulean eyes, brilliant raspberry hair puffed out like cotton candy, and a huge grin on her face. She was wearing a white dress shirt under a yellow coat along with a blue skirt with three balloon-shaped patches on it; one yellow with a blue string, two blue with yellow strings, along with a pair of shoes the same color as her hair. Her name was Pinkamena Diane Pie, but she preferred to just be called Pinkie. She was a complete party animal and loved to make people laugh, and she always loved helping Percy with his work.

“Mail delivery!” she called as she opened the vans. Porters walked over with hand-trollies and carted crate after crate of letters and parcels off the train before Percy shunted the empty vans away. Then Pinkie saw the others, and ran quickly, but safely, across the tracks to meet with them. “Hey girls!”

“Hey Pinkie!” said the others, high-fiving and hugging her. Then they all got wrapped up in a thick conversation until they saw the railway’s large green number 3, a green LMS Stanier 5MT named Henry, pulled in with a long goods train.

Henry may seem like a large brute, but really, he gives new meaning to the term “Gentle giant”, as that’s exactly what he is, and always loved the forest. Another girl climbed carefully down from his cab and dusted herself off. She was a lovely little girl with cyan eyes and pale pink hair. She wore a white butterfly-shaped clip in her hair, a white tank top, a skirt colored like a sky at dawn and a pair of white sandals.

Her name was Faith Summers, but people figured that was too fancy for someone as fragile-seeming and introverted as her, so everybody always called her Fluttershy. She didn’t mind it and even thought it fit her since she loved animals so much. She carefully walked up to the platform to them and they all kept talking for a while as Percy and Edward helped Henry shunt his train before they all left for a rest in the yard’s sheds.

Eventually, the station clock struck 3:28 and a loud whistle roared as the rails on track 1 hummed. Then in a screech, a large blue streak started to slow down just past the platform as a set of coaches stopped right at it as the clock ran down to 3:30. This blue streak was the railway’s number 4, a blue LNER A3 Pacific named Gordon, pulled in. He was always proud of his express coaches and his speed, and he cruised to a stop just as the station clock hit 3:30.

“Right on time,” he said as he rested on his chassis. “And looking splendid as usual.”

“Don’t blame ya,” said another girl as she checked the gauges on his cab. “It’s kinda your thing.” This girl had rainbow-colored hair and cerise eyes. She was wearing a short-sleeved blue jacket, black track shorts, blue tennis shoes with white soles and laces, red, yellow, and blue socks, and she wore a white T-shirt with a blue, yellow and red lightning bolt shooting from a cloud. Her name was Roxie Weathers, but everybody always called her Rainbow Dash because of her hair. She was very athletic and played with someone from Sodor’s football team to hone her skills, and she always considered herself as the tomboy of her friends’ group.

Then she picked up the radio in the cab that was connected to the coaches. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at Knapford Station. Anyone with a ticket for here, please grab any luggage you brought and disembark in an orderly fashion. Thank you.” Then she put it down.

“Man, you’re getting better on that thing, Rainbow,” said Sunset as the athletic girl jumped down from the big engine’s cab. “Not to mention your speed record. It only took you ten minutes to get all the way here.”

“Well, what can we say?” asked Rainbow, knocking on Gordon’s cylinders. “Must be the new tires on Gordon’s wheels. We’ve always had an edge in speed over the engines here, but these and some more new parts… we might be a fair challenge for your brother, Gordy.”

“Let’s get ahead of ourselves here, Rainbow,” said Gordon as Percy moved behind his train and was coupled to one of the coaches on the back.

“Now do be careful with Thomas’ coach, Percy,” said Gordon. “He already went through enough of that when Donald and Douglas arrived on the island.”

“How could I forget?” asked Percy as he shunted the coach onto platform 2 and a crowd of passengers walked out of the main train onto the platform.

“Howdy partners,” said Applejack. “Welcome to Sodor. Please feel free to help yourselves to the fruits of my family’s labor, free of charge. Care to buy any, you can find us at the Vicarage Orchard outside Wellsworth.” The passengers took her up on that offer, stopping for the chips and brown betties, and complimenting Applejack on them.

“Hey Gordy, can you handle the train from here? I’m gonna stay and hang,” said Rainbow.

“Certainly,” said Gordon as the guard blew his whistle and the train steamed away. Sunset was soon back to sweeping the platform as passengers continued flooding the station until she saw someone familiar near the edge of the platform.

She had deep indigo hair streaked with purple and rose and purple eyes. She was wearing a pair of thick black-framed glasses, a lavender dress shirt with a darker shaded tie under a deep blue sweater vest along with a skirt of the same color, over black leggings, lavender socks, and black shoes. Her name was Tina Sparkle, but everyone always referred to her as…

“Twilight?” asked Sunset, amazed to see her friend again. Twilight looked and ran over, giving her old friend a hug.

“Sunset! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” she said happily, looking her over. “Wow. What difference four years makes, huh?”

“You said it,” said Sunset. “Man, where have you been? We always thought you’d be home for summer or the holidays, but you never came.”

“Well, you and the others will be glad to know I’m back for good,” said Twilight proudly.

“That’s great,” said Rainbow as she and the others walked over. “It’s been ages since we hung out.”

“We are gonna have so much fun!” squealed Pinkie, grabbing her in a tight hug.

“And not alone,” said a male voice. The girls looked and saw a blue-haired man with blue eyes, wearing a red coat and white jeans nearby. He was Twilight’s older brother, Sterling “Armor” Sparkle, but he preferred to be called Shining Armor, as it made him feel like a knight. He walked up to the booth with his right arm around a woman.

She looked half-Italian and had purple, pink and gold hair, and gold eyes and was wearing a bright pink dress and sandals. Her name was Christina Mi Amore Cadenza Faust-Sparks, her middle name being Italian for I Love Cadence, but she didn’t exactly like that, so she took Cadence as a nickname. She used to babysit Twilight when she was little, before she and Shining Armor married and moved to London.

“Oh, of course,” said Twilight walking over. “You guys remember Shining Armor and Cadence, right?”

“How could we forget?” asked Rarity. “We were right there when you two were married.”

“Thanks again for the dress, Rarity,” said Cadence. “I loved it.” Rarity just blushed and stuttered, trying to find the right words until Rainbow noticed something.

“Your stomach’s a melon!” she exclaimed. The others looked and saw she was right; Cadence’s belly was huge, which obviously meant she was pregnant.

Shining Armor chuckled. “Yeah, we figured you’d react like that.”

“You’re having a baby? Soon?” asked Rarity.

“Any day now,” said Cadence, rubbing her belly. “There’s a big fuss in there, saying our daughter wants to come out and see the world.”

“Whoa,” said Pinkie as she and Fluttershy moved to look closer.

“Wanna give it a feel?” asked Armor.

“Whoa, no thanks!” said Applejack, backing away quickly.

“Yeah, sure,” said Sunset, as she moved her hand to Cadence’s stomach and felt a strong impact, which nearly made Cadence double over. “Whew. Quite the kicker, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, maybe once she’s old enough, she’ll be fast enough to keep pace with you, Rainbow,” said Armor.

“Well, let’s not get crazy just yet,” said Rainbow. Just then, they heard a bright familiar whistle. They all looked out and saw the railway’s number 1 engine steaming into the station with two orange LB&SCR Stroudley coaches. He was a bright blue LB&SCR Billinton E2 tank engine, and his name was Thomas, and the coaches’ names were Annie and Clarabel. Twilight always loved Thomas and waved to him as he steamed in.

“Twilight? Bust my buffers, you’ve grown. Good to see you again,” he said happily as he switched onto track 2 to be coupled to his special coach.

“You too, Thomas,” said Twilight, hopping on the engine’s running plate.

“Think you can give us a lift to Ffarquhar?” asked Armor.

“Certainly,” said Thomas. “All aboard!”

“Wait! Before that, how about a toast?” suggested Applejack, pulling up 9 wooden flagons.

“I can get behind that,” said Armor.

“The cider isn’t too hard, is it?” asked Cadence, concerned.

“Not to worry, darlin,” said Applejack, filling all nine flagons up. “This stuff is completely alcohol-free.” At that, Cadence and the others took up the flagons and smiled. “To the return of three great friends, and to the future.”

“To the future!” said everyone, knocking the flagons together and downing them before giving a loud refreshed sigh.

“Man, I can’t believe I forgot how good this stuff was,” said Twilight.

“Well, get used to it,” said Applejack. “Granny and the Vicar been talkin’ and they’re thinkin’ of carbonating this stuff, which is only gonna make it taste better.”

“Sweet!” said Rainbow.

“I think we’re missing the point here,” said Pinkie seriously.

“Which is?” asked Twilight. Pinkie gave a huge, possibly unnatural smile and shot up to the station roof.

“That we need to throw you a huge welcome home party!!!” she yelled in excitement. Everyone laughed, knowing that, of course, that was the point Pinkie was driving across. But still, everyone was glad to have Twilight home.


	2. Sunset Shimmer and the Midnight Nor' Wester

Sunset Shimmer was still serving her term of community service at Knapford Station, but most of the engines still didn’t trust her. The only ones that did were the ones from Thomas’ branch line, Henry, Edward, and a visiting engine named Stepney; a yellow LB&SCR A1X “Terrier” tank engine from the Bluebell Railway on the Mainland, but none of the other engines trusted her further than they could shunt. But she knew that would soon change. Late one evening, Sunset was just finishing her work for the night when the stationmaster came up to her.

“Sunset, the porters can handle your work for the rest of the night,” he said. “You go on home and get some sleep.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Sunset and walked down the platform to the bike rack. There, she unchained her old red bicycle and started riding off towards her home. A terrible storm was coming that night. The seventeen-year-old girl could feel it in the air. She was riding along the road through town when suddenly, Max and Monty, the dump truck twins from the Sodor Construction Co. went whizzing past on their way back from a construction site. They went so fast, they made Sunset crash her bike into a ditch. Then Monty saw her and saw a chance for a joke as he stopped.

“Hey, look Max,” he said cheekily. “It’s little miss Sunny.”

“Evening, Ms. Shimmer,” said Max, driving back to his brother. “You might want to get out of there. There might be snakes.”

“Snakes?!” asked Sunset, jumping away. She always hated snakes, but the only thing that slithered out of the grass in the ditch was a garden snake, and everyone knew garden snakes were harmless. Monty and Max laughed at the girl before they drove away. Sunset brushed them off and tried to get her bike back, but the crash had broken her bike’s front wheel, so it wouldn’t run. She decided to leave it until tomorrow and walked up the ridge to the mainline. Once there, she saw Stepney coming through with a late-night goods train.

“Stepney!” she called to him. “Stepney, wait! Stop, please!” Stepney saw her and slowly eased himself to a stop.

“What’s the matter, Sunset?” the old engine asked him.

“Max and Monty trashed my bike,” said Sunset. “Can you give me a ride back to my house, please?”

“Certainly,” said Stepney’s driver. “Climb aboard.” She quickly did so and the train was soon on its way again. The cold wind started to rise. Not far from Sunset’s house, Stepney sniffed.

“Smells like the rain’s almost here,” he said and looked at the black clouds rolling in and the sky growing darker and darker. “Lucky you left the station when you did, Sunset. Looks like it’s coming down from Culdee Fell.”

“I just hope the bridge holds up,” said Sunset, looking ahead at the old iron bridge over a small river, which most people called Sugar Creek. In heavy rains or spring thaws, the creek was susceptible to flooding and that may cause the bridge to be washed away, as Toby the tram engine learned in 1972, when the bridge was swept away, leaving him hanging on the rails like a tightrope.

“Once we get these trucks delivered to the docks, we’d better take cover at the sheds.” said the driver. “Or else we’re likely to be swept off the line.” Soon, Stepney had reached a small hill between Sugar Creek and the River Hoo. Near the top was a small house that Sunset called her own. It used to belong to her grandfather, but after he passed, Sunset moved in with her grandmother and helped keep it in one piece.

“Thanks again, Stepney,” she said, jumping down from the cab. “See you tomorrow.”

“Peep-peep! Good night, Sunset,” whistled Stepney and he puffed away. Sunset had soon finished her chores for the evening and was just getting ready for bed, starting by reading in her light blue nightgown. The kitchen had a good view of Sugar Creek and she and her grandmother could already tell from the storm that it was starting to pick up strength. The lightning flashed and thunder cracked in the hills outside. Then the rain came bucketing down. When the lightning illuminated the hills, Sunset peered through the rain, trying to see Sugar Creek Bridge.

“How do you think it’s holding up in this storm?” she asked her grandmother.

“I’m not sure, Sunny,” said the old woman, using the nickname Sunset’s grandfather used for her so often when she was little. “I just hope the rain doesn’t hurt the train schedule.” The two sat at the table and talked about how dangerous the storm may be.

The two knew the railway schedule by heart, and they knew that at midnight, Gordon would be passing through Wellsworth Station with an express from London without stopping. It was called the Midnight Nor’ Wester, and after passing the station, it would cross the large iron bridge over the River Hoo, and then the Sugar Creek Bridge, near Sunset’s house.

Not long after 11 o’clock, Sunset was just about to turn in for the night when she heard railway men outside. She looked out her window and saw them with Toby, the LNER J70 steam tram, on the far side of Sugar Creek checking the bridges before Gordon came through.

Suddenly, Toby’s bell rang wildly and his whistle blew a series of short blasts in a line before there came a terrible crack followed by a loud splash and the roar of a river. Sunset quickly looked where Toby’s lamp was shining and saw the bridge had collapsed into the river, which had become a raging torrent in the storm.

“Oh no!” she cried, running back downstairs. “Grandma! The bridge just collapsed! I have to go and help! I have to stop Gordon!”

“Then you’ll need this,” said her grandmother, handing Sunset an old red railway lantern.

“Grandpa’s lantern?” asked Sunset. “No, I couldn’t.”

“He would want you to use it. It’s always kept him and Edward safe,” said the old woman. With that, Sunset took the lantern, pulled on some rain-boots and a hat, and ran out to where the bridge once stood, the rain beating down on her head to see the storm had turned it into a raging torrent. Then she looked and saw Toby’s crew, pulling one man back to his feet from the edge.

“Toby!” she yelled. “Is everyone okay?!”

“We lost a few trucks, but we’re fine!” called the old tram. “But you have to get to Wellsworth Station and stop Gordon before he gets here!”

“I’m on it!” called Sunset. But before she could run down the line, she heard someone shout.

“Help!” the voice cried. She looked over the edge and saw two men, hanging for their lives onto branches just barely above the river.

“Save us!” yelled the other one.

“Toby, there’s someone down there!” yelled Sunset. One of the men shone a lantern down and saw the men.

“Hang on, boys!” he yelled. “We’ll get you out of there!” The men quickly searched the trucks Toby had saved and threw down a long cable.

“Sunset, we’ll take care of this! You go and get help! And above all, stop Gordon!”  yelled Toby. Sunset quickly tore down the path along the line toward the iron bridge. She checked her watch and saw it was 45 minutes until midnight. Forty-five minutes to get to Wellsworth Station before Gordon and stop him before it was too late. But just before she reached the bridge, a strong gust of wind blew out her lantern’s flame. She stared out into the darkness. In order to reach Wellsworth Station, she had to cross the iron bridge over the River Hoo; a large single-line bridge. On one side of the line was a very narrow walkway. Some of the slats were missing, the ones that were there looked too weak to hold her, and there was no handrail.

Sunset was afraid to cross the bridge herself, even in midday.

“Can I do it at a time like this?” she thought to herself. “In this storm? At near midnight?” She thought about Toby and his men, about Gordon and all the passengers aboard the express, about Rainbow Dash. Then it hit her. She had remembered her boasting that afternoon about how she was going to be in Gordon’s cab when he came through at midnight.

With newfound courage and worry for her friend, she tied her lantern to her waist with an old stretch of rope, ducked down onto her hands and knees and started to crawl along the old bridge. Nails and splinters from the sleepers cut her hands and knees, and tore at her nightgown, but gripping the steel rail to stop the strong mountain winds from sweeping her off, she carried on. Downed trees in the river crashed against the steel supports, making it wobble. Huge lightning bolts lit the storm-tossed night. Sunset shook with fear as she continued her hair-raising trek, not even stopping to rest. She had to reach the station within the next fifteen minutes or it would all be for nothing.

Finally, Sunset’s hand felt the wet, soft grass on the other side of the bridge. She quickly tossed her head up and saw the faint lights of Wellsworth Station. Quickly, she jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could. Once there, she burst into the main station building and threw herself at the counter.

“The Sugar Creek bridge has collapsed!” she cried. “You have to stop Gordon!” With that last thought, tired and hungry, Sunset collapsed on the floor.

“Sugar Creek? Wasn’t Toby’s crew up there?” asked the desk manager.

“I just got a call from them,” said the telegraph manager. “Everyone’s okay, but Sunset here’s right. We have to stop Gordon.”

“Right then,” said the stationmaster. “Make it so.” Quickly, the telegraph manager sent out a message to the next signalbox, telling him the situation and that all trains must be stopped. Gordon was just coming into Maron Station when the signal went red. Rainbow quickly applied the brakes and was extremely confused.

“What’s going on?” she asked as she got down onto the platform. “We’re supposed to be going through here to finish our run.” The stationmaster came out and told them what had happened at the bridge, and that Sunset had saved them.

Gordon was speechless as his passengers were all told the situation and left the train before the coaches were shunted away. Back at Wellsworth, Sunset had woken up and told the men about Toby’s men in the river. Quickly, she and the stationmaster all took Stafford, the electric shunter down to the creek to see Toby just finish pulling the men out of the river.

“Well done, Sunset,” said Stafford. “You’ve saved the line!” He honked his horn and Toby rang his bell to show her that she was a hero.

The next day, the bridge was repaired and everyone gathered at Knapford Station where Sunset, bandaged, clothed and wrapped in a towel sat near a podium which Sir Topham Hatt’s friend, Sir Robert Norramby, Earl of Sodor, walked up to.

“Ladies and gentlemen, engines and coaches,” he announced. “Four years ago, Rebecca Shimmer was nothing more than a little troublemaker. But last night, she managed to brave a storm and she saved the lives of hundreds aboard the Midnight Nor’ Wester. And for that, I am proud to relieve her of her punishment of cleaning the station, and, in the stead of Her Majesty, to present her with The Queen’s Gallantry Medal.” Then he pinned the medal to her jacket and welcomed her up to the podium, where a chorus of cheers, applause, and whistles met her.

“Thank you, everyone,” she said. “Thank you. I may be the hero, but as Sir Norramby said, I was just a little troublemaker before all this. I know I earned this medal, but I can tell you myself that honestly, I’m not sure I even deserve it.”

“Indeed,” said Sir Topham Hatt as he walked up. “And for your honesty and heroism, I hereby decree that the new bridge over Sugar Creek will be named after you. The Sunset Shimmer Bridge.”

“That sounds excellent, Sir, thank you,” said Sunset, pulling up her lantern. “And if it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to ask that my grandfather’s railway lantern be put in the Sodor Museum so that people can not only remember my heroism but my grandfather’s many years serving the North-Western Railway.” Everyone cheered and thought that was an excellent idea. Sir Topham Hatt did indeed put the lantern on display in the museum, and that night at Elsbridge Junction, the other girls and branch line engines gathered around to admire her medal.

“You’d best wear it proud, Sunset,” said Toby.

“I will, Toby,” said Sunset. “By the way, how are those men from the river doing?”

“They’ll pull through,” said Toby. “Thankfully, we managed to save them before it was too late.”

“This calls for a party!” yelled Pinkie rolling out a blue cannon which fired confetti into the air. Everyone thought that was a great idea, but Sunset just yawned.

“Actually, I think I just need some sleep,” she said. “I _was_ up until after midnight after all.” The others laughed and thought that was a splendid idea, so Edward took her home. Along the way, all the engines would whistle at Sunset, to let her know they were wrong to judge. Sunset knew this, but then as Edward stopped near the new bridge, she saw a strange crystal in the ground near the tracks. She dug it out, picked it up and saw it was actually a collection of seven strange geodes embedded in a stone; one red, one pink, one orange, one purple, one white, one blue, and one yellow.

“What is that?” asked Edward.

“I don’t know,” said Sunset. “I’ve never seen it before.” Then she experienced strange flashes and saw a group of girls who looked like herself and the others, but their skin was all different colors. They were also showed to have special magic powers. Once the flashes stopped, Sunset looked at the stone and somehow, she instantly knew what they were.

“The Elements of Harmony,” she said quietly to herself.

“The what?” asked Edward. Sunset looked and realized she had said that aloud.

“Oh uh, nothing,” said Sunset. “Nothing at all. I’m just gonna… Yeah.” Then she ran up the hill to her house, leaving Edward very confused. Sunset put the stone on her desk and looked at it intently as if expecting something to happen. But nothing did. So she decided to get some sleep. But she knew one thing about these stones; now that she had found them, her world would never be the same again.


	3. The Story of the Smiths

If you were to visit the Vicarage Orchard outside Wellsworth, you’d probably see an old traction engine named Trevor and an American family working the apple trees. This was the Smith Family.

The oldest among them was Annabelle Smith, an old woman with white hair and amber eyes, typically garbed in an old light green sundress. She was one of the oldest people on the island, so everyone always called her Granny. She didn’t mind that much and even liked the name.

The eldest child of the family was a strong young man with carrot orange hair with bright green eyes, and a red button-up shirt over a white muscle shirt and jeans, helping show his thick toned muscles. His name was Macintosh Jr., named for his father, but mostly because of his size people always called him Big Macintosh, Big Mac for short. And for some reason, he always wore a large brown leather workhorse collar around his neck. He said it made him feel even stronger and tougher, but the people who first met him just thought he was weird.

The youngest of the family was a little screwball of a girl with bright red hair and orange eyes, typically dressed in overalls and a light-yellow shirt and a pink ribbon in her hair. Her name was Annie, but she was so young and small that the family always called her Apple Bloom. At first, she didn’t like it all that much, but after a while, she got used to it.

And of course, the middle child was Applejack, one of Twilight Sparkle’s strongest friends. And the family had the heart to give the orchard their own little nickname; Sweet Apple Acres. The Vicar didn’t mind, and neither did Trevor, so they let the name stay.

The family’s strength came from helping the Vicar run the orchard for three generations, ever since Granny was a little girl where they developed their own method for picking the apples from the trees called apple-bucking, which entailed setting up the baskets under the tree before delivering a strong kick to the trunk and letting the apples fall into the baskets. And once they were off the trees, the family could turn them into any sort of refreshment or treat to sell them.

And Sodor’s Market Season was fast-approaching, so they were in full swing and needed the help of Trevor and any free engine they could find to put their shipments in the yard until then. The day before the market was to open outside Knapford Station, Edward pulled into the vicarage yard with Sunset on board and a long line of empty cargo vans behind him.

“All right AJ, we’re all set, so let’s load it up,” said Sunset.

“Give us a minute,” said Applejack. “We’re just getting the last shipment finished.” Then as Trevor rumbled past, Edward sniffed.

“That doesn’t smell familiar,” he said, referring to the smell coming from the crates in Trevor’s wagon. “What is that?”

“That right there is our latest product,” said Granny as Mac pulled one of the crates open with his brute strength. Sunset and Edward looked in and saw jars full of a strange rainbow-colored preserve. “Our new Zap-Apple Jam.”

“‘Zap-Apples’? I’ve never heard of them before,” said Sunset, pulling one of the jars out of the crate.

“And for good reason,” said Applejack, showing Sunset a tall rainbow-colored apple with a lightning-bolt shaped stem. “They ain’t native to the British Isles, but when Granny moved up here back in the ‘70s, she brought the seeds with her.”

“Oh, now don’t go givin’ me all the credit Applejack,” said Granny. “See, I didn’t personally bring the seeds. My Noshoni friend Tenta came with me and brought it. His tribe cultivated the fruit with the help of their wind spirit Chakashi, and my parents sold the fruit around the southwest. Once we moved here, we gave the seeds to the Vicar and planted them here. Wouldn’t ya know it, the seeds actually did a lot better in British soil than they did in American, but not till two years ago, and every year since, at around the same time, the trees in the back of the orchard grow fruit and boom! More profit than ever.”

“It’s that good?” asked Sunset, opening the jar.

“Even better,” said Mac, opening a lunchbox and pulling out some golden oily bread. “Great on Texas Toast. Here, try it.” He passed her a breadknife and let her spread the jam on the toast. Then she took the piece, took a bite, rolled it around in her mouth and her eyes went wide.

“Whoo!” she yelled. “Man, those Noshoni sure know how to grow great fruit.”

“Yeah, but that’s got me wonderin’,” said Apple Bloom as Mac closed the crate back up. “I don’t exactly remember anything about Tenta, apart from his name. Did we ever meet him?”

“Not that I recall,” said Applejack, scratching her head under her hat. “You remember meetin’ him, Mac?”

“Nnope,” he said. “Don’t think we ever have.”

“Well, that don’t entirely surprise me,” said Granny. “He passed away not long after Mac was born, Lord rest his soul, but I know he’d be proud of y’all.”

“Well, I’m sure this stuff will fetch a high price at market,” said Sunset as she finished the toast.

“Aw, we ain’t chargin’ much for it,” said Applejack. “Usually, people end up haggling us for it, but quite honestly, I think it’s kinda funny messin’ with em like that.” After she said that, Sunset felt something tugging on the inside of her jacket. She checked her pocket and saw the orange geode, which she had freed from the stone along with the other six, was wiggling around in her pocket. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, so she decided to wait until she had more profound results.

“Well then, I see we have something in common,” said a voice from the road nearby. Everyone looked and saw two men stopped near the side of the road in an old-fashioned car. They almost looked like identical twins, because they were wearing the same blue and white striped shirts with black bowties and straw hats, and they had the same red hair and eyes. The only real difference between the two of them was that one of them had a large handlebar mustache. Sunset looked over their car and laughed a little.

“Sheesh. And here I thought Stephen was the oldest thing on Sodor,” she said. “But that hunk of junk? Ha!”

“Oh, you don’t wanna mess with Flim and Flam, Sugarcube,” said Applejack. “Those two are wilier than a coyote in black leather.”

“Sometimes I don’t understand half the things you American country-folk say,” Edward said under his breath.

“Well, I must say Ms. Smith, it’s nice to see you haven’t lost your southwestern flare,” said the one without the mustache, evidently Flim. “But I must say, even your friend’s old blue kettle there outdates our car.” Edward was greatly insulted.

“‘Kettle’?!” he asked indignantly. “How dare you. I may be old, but I’m really useful. Sir Topham Hatt says so all the time.”

“And with good reason, I’m sure, old boy,” said the one with the mustache as he and Flim jumped out of the car. “But elsewhere, the Age of Steam has long since passed. But enough about history. We just came here to negotiate a deal. If you let us sell your Zap-Apples along with our own products at market this season, we’ll split the profits with you 70-30.”

“The 70 going to us, of course,” said Flim.

“For the thousandth time, you two, either we sell the Zap-Apples or nobody does,” said Granny. “No deal.”

“Well, we’ll come back by later and see how you feel about it,” said Flim as they got back in the car. “Let’s just hope it goes better than it has these last few days.” And with that, they drove away. Applejack and her family just rolled her eyes and walked away back to work.

“Who were those guys?” asked Sunset.

“Phineas and Francis Johnson,” said Applejack, checking Trevor’s flywheel. “Call themselves Flim and Flam. Just a couple of swindlers from Mississippi. Been tryin’ to get in on our exports for years.”

“Huh. Well, it’s kinda ironic,” said Sunset, leaning on Edward’s wheel-arch.

“Whaddaya mean by that?” asked Mac.

“Well, I’m just saying… Why do they sell apples, if they work in _pears_?” she asked. Everyone laughed at that comment and it didn’t die out until a few minutes later.

“Hoo-wee! Man… Good times… Good times…” sighed Applejack. “Well, better get back to work.” Soon, the vans were loaded and Edward steamed away to the shunting yard with Sunset on board.

“My heavens Sunset, and here I thought Pinkie Pie was the comedian of the gang,” said the engine.

“Well Edward, what can I say? I do have my moments,” said Sunset, flipping her hair. Then she looked back at the orange geode in her pocket and saw that its movement was slowing down as she got further from Wellsworth.

“I don’t know what you have to do with Applejack,” she thought. “But I’m gonna find out.” The next day, Market Season was open, and Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac were outside the station with the rest of the gang selling cider, apple crisps and other treats by the bushel, but their Zap-Apple shipment was late.

“Sheesh. Where are James and Rarity when ya actually need them?” asked Applejack, checking her watch.

“Relax Applejack,” said Twilight. “This isn’t the first time they’ve been late and I’m sure it won’t be the last.” Just then, Rosie the SR USA tank engine steamed in whistling urgently.

“Fizzling fireboxes, Rosie, calm down,” said Thomas. “What’s going on?”

“James crashed near the Vicarage,” cried Rosie.

“What? But then who’s taking our cargo?” asked Mac scared for the orchard’s profits.

“I don’t know,” said Rosie. “The cars were in the shunting yard when I got there, but they were empty.”

“But then, who took the Zap-Apple Jam?” asked Applebloom.

“Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and get yourself a taste of the Flim-Flam Brothers’ new Zap-Apple Jam,” said a familiar voice that got Applejack angry.

“Who indeed,” she said crossly as she walked over to the Flim-Flam Brothers’ stand to see some familiar jars on their cabinet. The labels were different, but she knew it was her family property. She was so angry she just pulled a pistol out of the holster on her belt and fired it into the air, drawing the attention of everyone there, not the least of which was the brothers.

“Nice, ain’t it?” she asked, spinning her revolver on her finger. “Smith and Wesson Model 3. Number 8 on a list of 22 guns that won the West.” Then she holstered the gun.

“What the devil is going on out here?” asked Sir Topham Hatt walking down to see the commotion.

“Pardon the fireworks, Sir,” said Applejack. “I’m just lookin’ for payback against these yella-bellied, whomper-jawed rustlers what stole my family property.”

“Why, whatever do you mean Ms. Apple-Smith?” asked Flim.

“That Zap-Apple Jam you got there,” said Applejack, pointing at it. “That’s my family property.”

“Well, I’m afraid this jam is the sovereign property of the Flim-Flam Corporation,” said Flam. “And unless you can prove it, then we are free to continue selling it.” Applejack just picked up one of the jars and ripped off their label revealing the Vicarage label.

“Happy?” she asked.

“Oh please, that could easily just be a fake,” said Flim.

“Oh fer…” said Applejack exasperated. “Y’know what, how bout we settle this like they did back home in the good old days?”

“Shootin’ contest?” asked Mac.

“Yep,” said Applejack. “First one to take out the most targets before time runs out wins right to sell the Zap-Apple jam. I’ll take on Flim. You game, partner?”

“Alright, cowgirl, you’re on,” said Flim, pulling a small Smith and Wesson revolver out of his back pocket.

“Not with stuff like that,” said Applejack, pulling her pistol. “For this, we only use western weapons.”

“Uh…” said Flim.

“Got a problem with that, yella-belly?” asked AJ.

“No,” he said through his teeth as he put his gun away and picked up a cowboy repeater.

“Girls, if you could set up the targets, I’ll be right there,” said Applejack, checking her gun. “I got five beans in the wheel and I aim to rectify that.”

“What?” asked Rainbow. Applejack flipped out the drum of her revolver and took out a bullet case.

“I only got five rounds left in this bad boy, and I gotta reload,” she clarified.

“Oh okay,” said Rainbow.

**(Look up “Music of the Wild West – 80 minutes” on YouTube, and just listen)**

Soon enough, a plethora of metal cups and old bottles had been set up on a wall of metal shelves near the main yard. Flim stood on the left side of a white line in the ground with a Winchester Repeater in his hands, and a table with a cover on it in front of him, and Applejack on the right, her hands hovering over her twin six-shooters. Then Twilight stepped forward with a stern look on her face.

“Attention shooters,” she said. “You will have five minutes to take out as many targets on your side of the line as you can. You may both use any weapon you choose, but only that weapon. Clear?”

“Crystal,” said both.

“Good,” said Twilight as she stepped back. “And… Begin!”

Flim quickly leveled his rifle and started shooting as Applejack whipped out both her pistols and fired at key spots in most of the metal targets, making them ricochet off into some of the other targets, knocking them all down. It took a few reloads, but soon enough, Applejack was ahead of Flim. Quickly, he kicked the ground in front of him, and a mess of bullets shot out from somewhere near Flim, taking down all the targets just before the timer ran down.

**(Cut it.)**

“Time’s up!” called Twilight and they stopped shooting. Rainbow ran over and checked and saw something worrying.

“Flim’s side is barren,” she said.

“Then I suppose that means I win,” he said. “I told you the jam was ours.”

“Now wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute there, partner!” said Mac. “Where’s your brother? I didn’t see him run out here to congratulate you.”

“Well, if I know Flam, he’s in the john,” said Flim. “Gunfire makes him very erratic.”

“Then how did all these holes show up in yer table cover?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It’s old and wearing down,” said Flim. “Some cat must’ve stolen the strings.”

“While you were shootin’?” asked Apple Bloom, examining the holes. “Plus, these holes are singed. No cat could do that.”

“Are you accusing me of cheating? Without any proof?” asked Flim. “Well, I think that’s more than grounds for disqualification.”

“And this ain’t?” asked Applejack, pulling the cover from the table to reveal a Western Gatling gun under the table and the clear imprint of someone having been there.

“Well, well, well,” said Rainbow. “Looks like we got a cheater here.”

“And I got another one right here,” said Mac, leading a rather dirty Flam around the corner with his sawed-off double barrel shotgun in his back. “I’d say that imprint matches you perfectly, wouldn’t you Flam? Now, how’s about you tell all these nice folks the truth and my sister and I won’t have to shoot you.” As if to show how serious they were, the two cocked their guns and aimed them at the brothers.

“Okay, okay, fine,” said Flim. “We confess. We stole the cargo from the yard and had Diesel deliver it for us.”

“And where exactly is Diesel?” asked Rainbow. Then Sunset saw the black BR class shunter racing away as fast as his wheels would carry him.

“Looks like we’re a little late to catch him,” she said. “Still, we proved who was really the salesman here, and I think that makes up for it.”

“I believe so as well,” said Sir Topham Hatt who walked over with two policemen. “I’ve just spoken to these gentlemen and they agree as well. So much so that they are willing to condemn these two con-men to three years of prison time.” And soon enough, that’s exactly what they did. Once they were gone, the Apple-Smith family raised more money than ever, and once the work ended the next week, Edward and Sunset brought the family back to the orchard. Sunset asked if she could sleep over, and that night, she was all curled up in Applejack’s bedroom on the floor in a sleeping bag near her bed.

“Y’know AJ, I gotta say, you’re a real ace with those guns,” said Sunset.

“Well, chalk it up to a couple years of training from my pappy,” the cowgirl smiled. “Y’know, he always did try to teach me that Honesty was best, and I think that really showed in that shootout, don’t ya think?”

“Totally,” said Sunset. Then out of nowhere, the orange geode flew out of Sunset’s jacket pocket, flying at Applejack. She was scared it might hurt her, but Sunset quickly caught it. But once she did, it changed shape. Sunset opened her hand to see the geode had transformed into an orange apple-shaped gem.

“Okay, this is just weird,” said Sunset.

“What the wing-ding is that thing?” asked Applejack.

“I don’t know,” said Sunset. “I found it next to the track where the bridge went down. Along with six others. But I don’t think we even know half of what these things have to offer.” Applejack was still confused as the gem hovered closer to her. She touched it and practically instantly, it shot onto her neck, forming a beautiful gold necklace around it and Applejack’s neck. Then she got weird memory flashes; she and the others were multi-colored ponies in another world, with incredible magical powers. Once they passed, she rubbed her head, took the necklace off and stared into the gem.

“What was that?” asked Sunset.

“I don’t know,” said Applejack. “But I think we need to find out.”


	4. The Wolf-Girl of the Woods

If you were new to the Island of Sodor and asked about a timid teenage girl named Faith Summers, you would learn three things. One; the nickname that basically everyone on the island knew her by was Fluttershy. Two; She loves animals. And three; she was the shyest girl on Sodor, with barely enough courage to even sleep at someone else’s house for the night. Now, those are all right to a degree, but Fluttershy has an insane secret. One that no one, not even her best friends, knew about. Or so she thought.

It all started three years ago when Fluttershy and her friends had gone on a camping trip out to Henry’s Forest, but Fluttershy had wandered too far away from her friends into the woods while on an evening nature walk. She was terrified that she might spend the rest of her life out in the woods, especially when she heard something large growl behind her. She slowly turned around and found herself face-to-face with a large silver-coated wolf.

Fluttershy had always been taught that when confronted with a wolf, she must look it straight in the eyes and back slowly away. And that’s just what she started to do until she saw the wolf topple over to one side. She carefully approached the large beast and saw that it was a female, just about to give birth no less. But obviously, the beast was having some trouble with birthing, as it whined and kicked like a wounded dog.

Fluttershy carefully felt over the beast’s stomach and was amazed at how soft its fur was, but then she felt that the wolf had a rather major cramp near her uterus, which might make traditional birth risky. She could try pushing on the beast’s stomach, but she was worried it would turn on her. She only knew one other way she could help. It was disgusting, but it was the only way she could see. So despite everything her brain said telling her not to do it, she listened to her heart, rolled up her sleeves and carefully stuck them into the wolf’s gash. It was warm, slick and disgusting, but she knew she was doing the right thing.

After what seemed like an eternity to her, she finally got her hands on something inside the wolf’s uterus. Knowing it must be one of the wolf’s pups, she took a tight grip on its body and pulled with all her might. Once that one came out onto the grass, the other three quickly followed, all letting out adorable little squeals as their mother bit the cords off and licked them clean. Then it turned to Fluttershy, who was smiling. The large beast moved forward and nuzzled Fluttershy as she hugged its large furry neck. Then she saw a large black wolf nearby, obviously the mother’s mate and the wolf pack’s alpha. He growled at the little girl, but the mother stood and growled back. And the amazing thing was… Fluttershy seemed to understand what they were saying.

After a minute, the male sniffed Fluttershy and nuzzled with her too, obviously accepting her into the pack. Then one of the newborn pups crawled up and licked her hand. She gave a little giggle at the feeling, but then she heard something.

“Fluttershy!” called Rainbow. “Fluttershy, where are you?” She knew she couldn’t let Rainbow see her like this, so she quickly memorized all the pups’ features, named them and ran away to a river nearby. Quickly, she slapped small amounts of mud on her arms above the remnants of amniotic sack on her forearms and then drove her arms into the river, quickly washing off everything there. After that, she returned to the others and they continued their camping trip.

Three years had passed, but even now, as she was washing her hands for dinner one night, she still remembered every moment of that meeting with the wolves in vivid detail. She smiled to herself as she left the bathroom and went down the hall to the kitchen.

The next day, she was on the platform at Elsbridge Station waiting for her train when she saw someone familiar nearby looking at his phone.

He was a young man about Twilight’s age, with hair two different tones of moderate sapphire blue, vivid cornflower blue eyes, and standard tan skin. He was wearing a black jacket with a red and white stripe running along his chest with a patch resembling blue shield and yellow lightning bolt design on it over a white t-shirt, with jeans and standard black sneakers. His name was Franklin Shields, but he always preferred to be called Flash Sentry. His father always worked in Knapford running a music shop, and he usually helped him out when he needed it, even saving up enough to buy himself a guitar.

“Good morning, Flash,” she said chipperly. Flash looked up from his phone and smiled at her.

“Oh hey Flutters,” he said. “Been a while since I’ve seen you. Hey, is it true that Twilight’s on the island again?” Fluttershy just rolled her eyes. Ever since they met in their junior year at Canterlot High School in Knapford, Flash and Twilight had been in love, but even though they went out on a few dates, in the eyes of Twilight’s friends, it never really worked out, especially not after she moved to London for college at Brunel University.

“Yeah, she’s back,” she chuckled before she noticed what was on his phone. “Whatcha doing?”

“Just checking out some of these cheesy urban legend websites,” said Flash, scrolling back to the top of the page. “Hey, here’s a good one. Some guy says he saw a girl help a wolf give birth with her bare hands in the forest three years ago. Called her the Wolf-girl of the Woods. Can you believe that?” Fluttershy was confused until she saw the picture on the page. It was a shot of her, the alpha wolves who accepted her into their pack, and their pups from three years ago.

“Someone saw that?” she whispered, shocked.

“Did you say something?” asked Flash.

“What? Oh no, nothing, nothing at all,” said Fluttershy, trying to cover her tracks. Finally, Henry pulled in with a long train of coaches. Without hesitation, she jumped onto the train and took her seat just before Henry pulled out, leaving a very confused Flash standing on the platform waiting for the next train.

While on the train, Fluttershy couldn’t stop thinking about that article. If one of her friends looked closely enough at the girl in the picture, they’d be able to pick her out no problem. Thankfully, when she got off the train at Crovan’s Gate Station, she saw that her friends were more interested in Applejack’s gold necklace than they were in a website, and when she saw it, she was interested as she walked over.

“I must say Applejack, it looks simply divine,” said Rarity. “Wherever did you get it?”

“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” said Sunset.

“Try it,” said Rainbow, dribbling a basketball on the platform.

“Well, it’s like this…” said Sunset.

But before she could begin, Pinkie took a deep breath and said, “The necklace formed from that magical apple gem in it which came from a geode with six others like it and they might actually be some sort of magical source of power from another dimension!” Then she gave a broad smile and a weird squee noise. Sunset’s eyes were as wide as plates and Applejack’s jaw dropped.

“How the heck did you know all that?” asked Sunset.

“Just a hunch,” said Pinkie nonchalantly.

“Wait. That gem is one of seven?” asked Twilight. “Where are the others?”

“Right here,” said Sunset, pulling them out of her jacket pocket. “Why?”

“Hmm. I remember reading about something like this once,” said Twilight, adjusting her glasses to look at the stones. “In my mythology class, back at college first-year. I know I read something about it, but I can’t put my finger on what they’re called.” She decided to think about it over lunch, which Rarity bought for them from the nearby café.

Then Fluttershy heard a loud howling coming from the woods nearby. She knew it had to have been the wolves from three years ago, calling her to meet them in their usual spot in the woods for the pups’ birthday but, of course, this was the _one_ day Fluttershy had to have been with her friends.

Thankfully, they were all too wrapped up in their conversation to notice. Quickly, she slipped out of the café and ran out into the woods. But then, Rainbow noticed.

“Hey, did anyone see where Fluttershy went?” she asked. The others looked around and saw she was gone. Then Twilight and Flash locked eyes from across the café and the young man began walking toward her.

“Hey Twilight, good to see you again,” he said and kissed her cheek. Twilight blushed and Sunset rolled her eyes. Flash was once her boyfriend, but after he found out about her methods of extorting people to get what she wanted, he broke up with her and moved on.

“Good to see you too, Flash,” said Twilight. “What have you been up to while I was gone?”

“Oh, you know. The usual,” he said. “Mostly just helping my dad out in the shop, working on some songs I might wanna play if I get a band together. Oh, and just this morning, I showed Fluttershy this ridiculous urban legend. Here, check it out.” He pulled out his phone and showed the girls the site from that morning.

“Yeah, we know about that,” said Rainbow. “I think it was in the papers, uh when was it AJ, the day after our camping trip, or the day after that?”

“Uh, first day I think,” said Applejack. Then Twilight looked close at the picture and was able to make out a lock of very familiar pale pink hair. She directed the others’ attention to it, and they instantly figured out where Fluttershy went. Quickly, Rarity slapped £10 on the check, Twilight kissed Flash and they all ran out into the woods. Flash was still unclear as to what was going on, so he decided to figure it out and ran after them.

Out in the woods, Fluttershy had made it to the river she had washed herself in all those years before when the four three-year-old wolves; two girls and two boys.

“Max, Buddy, Bella, Lucy, thank you again for meeting me here,” she said. “And happy birthday.” Then she noticed that Max was holding his left forepaw in the air, almost like it was injured. “Oh no, Max, are you okay?” Max whined and limped towards her. Fluttershy looked at it and grimaced at the large thorn in his second toe.

“Oh, you poor little baby,” she mused. “Don’t worry. I can fix that.” She then took the wolf’s paw in her hand and moved for the thorn when she heard a twig snap behind her. She and Max instantly looked in fear as Buddy, Bella and Lucy growled at the intruders. Fluttershy looked and saw the others walking out of the bushes with astonished looks on their faces.

“Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis,” said Applejack simply.

“You said it,” said Twilight. “Fluttershy, you’re the Wolf-girl of the Woods?”

“I- I-…” she stuttered. Flash was too amazed to say anything so he just pulled out his phone and took a picture. Then Rarity saw the thorn in Max’s paw.

“Oh dear,” she said. “What happened to him?”

“I’m not sure, but if I don’t remove it now, he might get infected,” said Fluttershy.

“Well, I say we leave her to it,” said Twilight as she marshaled everyone else away. Quickly, Fluttershy set to work, starting by removing the thorn, washing Max’s paw in the stream and then bandaging it.

“There you go, little guy,” she said. “See you next year. Happy birthday.” Then the wolves all gave her a happy bark and ran away. Then Fluttershy walked back to the others.

“So you helped their mother give birth to those guys?” asked Rainbow. “How’d you know she was having trouble?”

“Quite honestly, I didn’t,” said Fluttershy. “But I started a philosophy that day. All beings in need deserve to be shown a little Kindness.” At those words, the yellow geode flew out of Sunset’s pocket and shot out right in front of Fluttershy, which scared her a bit. Then when they all looked at the stone, they saw it change color from bright yellow to pale pink, and shift into the shape of a butterfly. Then it hovered onto Fluttershy’s neck and formed a gold necklace like Applejack’s, before she had a very similar flash of memories to the ones the country girl had. Once the memories faded, she looked at the others with a sort of terrified and incredibly happy look on her face.

“Are you okay?” asked Sunset.

“You wouldn’t believe what I just saw,” she replied. Then Twilight snapped her fingers.

“Now I remember!” she said. “These geodes were from an ancient civilization called the Bronies, who honored pony goddesses. The geodes are the embodiments of the most powerful entities known to their kind; the Elements of Harmony.”

“Elements of What-now?” asked Applejack.

“Those necklaces you’re wearing,” said Twilight. “Those are the first two of the seven Elements; Honesty and Kindness.”

“And I have a hunch Sunset’s packing the other five in her jacket pocket right there,” said Rainbow.

“I must be. This exact same thing has happened twice now,” said Sunset. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

“Then we need to get our Elements awakened too,” said Rainbow. “I want that to happen to me.”

“Well, we know you won’t be getting Generosity, Rainbow,” said Twilight. Everyone laughed, but they had no idea how serious this would soon be.


	5. The Clown

It was a normal August morning on the Island of Sodor. Well, as normal as it could be with Pinkie Pie. The young lady somehow always managed to pop up at the most random times and do the craziest things. When the railway’s number 5; a red L&YR Class 28 named James steamed into Knapford Station with the morning local, he heard a loud bang nearby. He looked on the platform and saw it was just Pinkie having fired her large blue party cannon.

“Ow!” groaned James. “That noise is gonna echo in my funnel for weeks. What was that for, Pinkie?”

“It’s the station’s birthday today,” she replied gleefully. “I need to throw it a party,” James remembered that she was right. Today was the anniversary of when Knapford Station was first built in 1956, but he still rolled his eyes.

“You’re such an oddball, Pinkie,” he said as Rosie shunted his coaches away. “You’d be better off in the circus than on a railway.”

“Oh,” puffed Rosie. “So you already know?”

“Know about what?” asked Gordon.

“The circus,” said Rosie. “A circus is coming to Sodor, and they’d like us to help set up.” James chuckled as he saw a chance for a joke.

“Make sure your tunnel’s clear, Henry,” he said to the big green engine. “We wouldn’t want you to get hosed again.” He and Gordon laughed as Henry groaned in angst. The other engines had never let him live down when an elephant from one of the last circuses got stuck in his tunnel and blasted him with water. Pinkie was very excited. She always loved the circus, and she and the others went to them nearly every time one came to Sodor.

And this year wouldn’t be any different. Nearly every engine on Sodor had been roped into helping set up in the fields near Tidmouth. With the girls’ help, the whole place was soon set up and ready for opening within a few days. But on the day of the circus’ opening, Pinkie noticed that the ringleader was rather acting erratic.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“I’m afraid not,” he said. “My best clown’s just fallen ill. I think she had some bad sushi or something like that. She’ll be fine by tomorrow but without her, this opening show won’t be the same.”

“I bet you could fill for her, Pinkie,” said Rainbow. “James did say you might do well here in the circus.”

“I’m actually pretty sure he meant that as an insult,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, but Dashie’s right,” said Pinkie. “If no one fills in for the clown, this show won’t be the same. I’ll do it.”

“Good. You’ll find her gear over there,” said the ringleader pointing over at a trailer. Quickly, Pinkie ran over to the trailer, but when she saw the clown’s equipment, particularly the costume, she didn’t think it was her thing. Then she saw something that really seemed like her style.

It was a pink and blue jester’s cap with silver bells, a similarly colored open coat with puffy half-sleeves and purple fingerless arm-length gloves and a purple corset. It also had purple garters and by some stroke of coincidence, her three balloon patches on the right leg, as well as blue boots and a gold scepter with a funny-looking cartoonish pony head on one end and a ruby on the others. She also saw a tin of light blue face-paint nearby.

“Oh, I want that!” she said and grabbed the items. Quickly, she changed into the costume, painted a line over each of her eyes with her make-up and ran back over to the opening area. The ringleader was confused, but he decided not to touch it.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, it is my great pleasure to welcome all here to the Hayley International Travelling Circus,” he said as the large confetti jets nearby fired as Pinkie did a series of cartwheels with a unicycle strapped to all her limbs. “That’s not how her routine goes.” the ringleader whispered to her.

“Well, I didn’t have time to go over it, plus I don’t really think it would work well with this costume,” said Pinkie. “It’s called improv. Besides, they seem to like it.” He looked out at the people as Pinkie flipped with the unicycles, but the wheels spun as she landed and she fell on her butt, making everyone laugh.

“Okay, I guess you’re right,” said the ringleader. “Can you keep it up all night?”

“Piece of cake,” said Pinkie as she started juggling the unicycles and a running chainsaw. “I could do this blindfolded. In fact…!” Quickly she threw everything into the air and tied a piece of cloth over her eyes before she caught the unicycles, threw all but one of them away, and started riding that one toward the Big Top tent as she caught the chainsaw and started grabbing other sharp stuff; an ax, a sword and a batch of throwing knives.

“Step right up, ladies and germs, this way to the Big Top extravaganza!” she called as she rode up and over an elephant. Then when she landed, she took off her blindfold and looked at him. “You look familiar. Aren’t you the guy who splashed Henry? You remember him, right? Big guy, green, number three on his tender? No? Alright, I must be thinking about someone else.” Then she kept riding and threw all the weapons to their assigned users before flipping off the unicycle and landing in the cannon. Then it fired her up into the air.

“WHEEEEEE!!!” she yelled as she flew through the air and swung from the trapeze before landing perfectly on her feet on the ground in the center ring.

“Ta-da!” she yelled as trumpets let out the same notes. “Just like rehearsal!” Everyone had made their way inside and was cheering and laughing at the routine Pinkie had just pulled. Then Sunset saw that the pink geode in her jacket pocket was starting to wiggle and glow.

“Sweet,” said Rainbow, having seen it too. “Three down, four to go.”

“Hang on,” said Twilight. “We can’t be sure Pinkie is the Bearer of that Element.”

“Why not? Look at her,” said Sunset, pointing at Pinkie doing a ridiculous face. “If that’s not the face of the Bearer of Laughter, then I don’t know what is.”

“Fair enough,” said Twilight. That night, the festivities for the day had ended and Pinkie was in the trailer with the ringleader, Jack Hayley.

“Well Mr. Hayley, it’s been nice working with you, but I think this is yours,” she said, handing him the costume she used.

“Ah, keep it,” said Jack. “It suits you better anyway.”

“Thanks,” said Pinkie. “See ya.” And with that, she packed the costume into her bag and walked out to her friends, who were looking at the pink geode.

“Well, good news is Pinkie’s definitely the Bearer of this Element,” said Twilight. “Bad news is it hasn’t bonded with her yet. Not only that, but we still don’t know what these things do anyway.”

“Well, this is gonna sound weird, but since I got mine I’ve been feelin’ a might stronger than usual,” said Applejack.

“And I’ve felt more of a connection to animals,” said Fluttershy.

“That is weird,” said Sunset. “We’ll have to see what this element does for Pinkie when it bonds to her.” Then she looked and saw the stone was gone. “AH! Where’d it go?!” They all looked and saw that Pinkie had stolen it and was holding it close to her neck. Then if flashed and turned bright blue, shifting into the shape of a balloon. Then it formed a gold necklace like the others and she got a bright flash of memories, showing that she was a physics-defying pony party planner. Then when her memory jam ended, she snapped back to reality and smiled broadly.

“That was AWESOME!” she said. “I think I need a cupcake!” Then she quickly pulled one of the aforementioned goodies out of her hair… somehow… and shoved it into her mouth. But when she did, one of her fingers touched the frosting and it started glowing. Twilight noticed and was worried.

“We might wanna stand back,” she said, pushing the others back. Then Pinkie’s stomach puffed up like a balloon in a muffled explosion for a brief moment, before she let out a long burp, unleashing a sparkly pink cloud.

“Whoo. Man, that one must’ve had some extra kick to it,” said Pinkie.

“Did you just blow up a cupcake just by touching it?” asked Sunset, amazed and disturbed.

“Looks like it,” said Pinkie.

“How are you still alive?” asked Twilight, just straight-up confused.

“Twilight, this is Pinkie Pie we’re dealing with here,” said Rainbow. “Nothing about her makes sense. I thought we established this in high school.” The girls laughed, knowing Rainbow was right, but Twilight was still wondering about something. If the geodes gave the first three girls powers, then what would happen when all three were bonded to their Bearers.


	6. The Rarest Diamond

If you were to ask one of the girls to describe Rarity in one word and/or phrase, you’d probably get a flurry of different responses. Greedy would not be among them. Fashion-forward; yes, amazing; sure, beautiful enough to play Veronica Sawyer in “Heathers: The Musical” … Well, lose the accent and then absolutely, but greedy; never.

And you can’t exactly blame her. I mean, odds are you’ve probably already heard that she was one of the most popular people at Canterlot High School, and you’re probably one of _those_ people who believe that stereotype about popular kids not caring about anything but themselves. Hell, she ran the student council at CHS since her sophomore year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you got the wrong idea, and when she was barely thirteen, she actually lived up to said stereotype. But it all changed one fateful night in October.

Her mother, a very kind old woman, was in a rather traumatic car accident caused by Max and Monty riding rough as usual. When she was rushed to the hospital, the doctors figured out that without a blood transfusion within the next day, she’d go into a coma. The only problem was that her blood type was O-Negative; one of the rarest types in the world.

Rarity’s father posted adds everywhere, but no one came for several hours. She was soon terrified her baby sister Simone, whom she and everyone else called Sweetie Belle because her lavender hair and light green eyes made her look too sweet to hurt, would be separated from her mother too early in her life to even know her and started crying as she held the infant. But then a mysterious man walked in through the front door of the hospital.

He was obviously some sort of rich eccentric, given his flamboyant purple clothing, perfectly coiffed orange hair and small but fabulous mustache, but that wasn’t what concerned Rarity. She saw that he was holding one of her father’s flyers in his hand and he told the front desk that he had the blood type her mother needed. Quickly, the doctors did the transfusion and Rarity’s mother was saved. What happened next, Rarity remembered incredibly vividly. It started when she saw the man walking out of the building, but she quickly caught up with him in the parking lot, still holding her little sister.

“Wait!” she cried out to him and he stopped. “Why did you do that?” The man chuckled and looked at her with burning orange eyes.

“What was I supposed to do? Let a couple of little girls like you and your sister live without your mother the rest of your lives?” he asked. “I may be rich, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.”

“No, I mean… Thank you,” said Rarity. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. “I know I don’t have that much on me, but I hope it will be enough to pay you back.”

“Keep your money,” said the man as he walked up to the girl. “A woman needed to be helped. I helped. End of story. Besides, I’ve got plenty of blood left to give, so if anything like this ever happens again, look me up. Here’s my card.” Then he handed Rarity a small purple card with a phone number on it in orange, but no name. “Ciao.” Then he started walking away again.

“Wait. The least you can do is tell us your name. Mine is Rarity, and this is Sweetie Belle.” said Rarity as she cradled Sweetie Belle. The man smiled and looked over his shoulder at the girl, fiddling with his mustache.

“Call me… Steven Magnet,” he said. “And remember my philosophy, my dear. Whatever your friends might have told you, Honesty is only one of the best policies. The more important one in my book… Generosity. Always remember that, my dear. Always remember. Generosity is key.” And with that, he disappeared without another word.

Fourteen years later, Rarity still remembered Steven’s kind actions and great philosophy every time she looked into her mother’s kind eyes. Ever since, she has always given to her friends and to people in need as much as she could spare, and today was no exception. It was a bright day at Knapford Station as she was giving James a good wash, polish, and Brasso.

Unfortunately, being so beautiful, Rarity was often on the receiving end of obviously inappropriate catcalls from men. There was one group over at Knapford that had been a particular thorn in her side for several months; a street gang of New York punks called the Diamond Dogs, led by a guy who nicknamed himself Fido. And they were at it again today.

“Dang baby, I’m tellin’ ya,” said Fido. “Why not just come with me tonight? We’d be perfect together.”

“For the hundredth time, Fido, I’m single by choice,” she growled as she wiped Brasso onto James’ dome. “And even if I weren’t, I wouldn’t get with you even if you were the last man on Earth.”

“Actually, Rarity, I’m fairly certain you said that for the hundredth time a good long while ago,” said James.

“Really? Then what’s this” asked Rarity.

“What’s today, Thursday?” James pondered. “One, two, three… 350.”

“35 _1_ , actually James,” said Rainbow nearby. “Remember? Last week? You called these guys a, um… How’d she describe them again, Sunset? She said something really smart that one morning over coffee.”

“‘A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots’, I believe,” quoted Sunset.

“There ya go,” Rainbow smirked at Fido. “Poetry.”

“Oh yes, thank you, dear,” said Rarity. “I did say that, didn’t I? Well, I’d say that’s more than enough proof that I’m not interested, Fido. So if you don’t mind…” She waved her hand as if trying to usher them away. Fido let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette and walked away with his two friends following him.

“I don’t know why those guys just can’t take a hint,” said Sunset, sharply pulling on the bottom of her jacket.

“Most men are always like that,” said Twilight as she walked up adjusting her glasses. “Immature no matter what age they are. Take it from someone who knows. There were way more than a few back at University.”

“Well hopefully, that’s the last you’ll see of them,” said a familiar voice. “And if not, I have a rather cunning plan.” Everyone looked to the platform and saw Steven Magnet walking out towards the siding James was on. His mustache was much bigger, but Rarity would know him anywhere.

“Steven!” yelled Rarity as she ran over to him. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Hello, my dear Rarity,” smiled Steven as he caught her in a hug. “My heavens, look how much you’ve grown. How old are you now?”

“Nearly 22, old friend,” she said and held him tight.

“Good Lord, I have been gone a while,” he said and noticed the others. “And who might these be?”

“Oh, of course,” said Rarity as she led him over. “These are some of my oldest friends. Twilight…”

“Hello,” she said, shaking his hand.

“Sunset…” Rarity added.

“Morning,” she said happily.

“Rainbow Dash…” she continued.

“Sup?” she greeted.

“And my favorite engine, James,” she finished.

“Peep peep!” James whistled.

“Girls, this is Steven Magnet, the man who saved my mother’s life seven years ago,” said Rarity.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said.

“So what’s this cunning plan you have here?” asked James.

“Well, first of all, am I correct in assuming those, and I’m using this term very lightly, gentlemen… were the Diamond Dogs?”

“As a matter of fact, they were,” said Rarity. “Why?”

“Well, if their name is any indication, then they must be very interested in jewelry,” said Steven, stroking his mustache. “And I would just happen to know where one of the premier jewelry stores in Knapford is.”

“What are you getting at?” asked Rainbow suspicious.

“Simple,” said Steven. “All you have to do is…” he whispered the rest to the girls and once he was done, they all backed away and smirked.

“Devious. I like it,” said Sunset.

“And on Rarity’s part, it would just appear to be a generous offer, only asking for a few things in return,” said Steven. “So what do you think?”

“Let’s do it,” said Rarity. They all high-fived and later that evening, they put their plan into action, starting with Rarity and Sunset out near the Dogs’ usual hangout in one of Knapford’s back-alleys, Rarity wearing a skintight black leather suit.

“Is it too late to back out of this?” asked Rarity, tugging on her collar.

“Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed now,” said Sunset. “You have any idea how much that suit cost me?”

“It’s not that,” said Rarity. “I just prefer suede. But if I must, then I must.” Then she walked near the opening of the alley and whistled. The Dogs looked and saw one of her strong, lean, sexy lady-legs. “Oh boys…” she called in a sing-song voice. Quickly, the three Dogs quickly zipped out and saw her, panting like their namesakes.

“Hellooo, Nurse!” they said.

“You think this is good?” asked Rarity, handing Fido a card. “Go to this address and get me anything shiny, and I’ll let you have a little… peek.” As if to illustrate her point, she unzipped the suit from the neck down to her chest. “You game?”

“One shiny thing, comin’ up doll,” said Fido as he and his boys raced away. Once they were gone, Sunset pulled out a walkie-talkie.

“They took the bait,” she said into it. “Headed your way.”

“Gotta admit, this was the best idea ever,” said Rainbow. “We’re in position.” Then she turned off her walkie and looked over at Steven, who was behind the wheel of Flynn, the Oshkosh W800 ARFF fire engine in an alley near the jewelry store.

“It’d better be. The police have been trying to land these dogs for months,” said Flynn. “We take them down, we’d be doing them a favor.” Then the Dogs tore up in a car and smashed through the front window. Once the alarm started blaring, Flynn turned on his sirens, roared out onto the streets and after them. Quickly, upon seeing Flynn, the Dogs started running up the street away from him and almost got away until Steven threw a hook from Flynn’s front-end winch, latching it onto their bumper and stopping them dead in their tracks just as the police arrived.

“‘Ello, ‘ello, ‘ello, what have we got here then?” asked one of the bobbies.

“Darn it, Jones, I thought I told you not to do that,” said another.

“Sorry Sarge,” said Jones. “Also, my name is pronounced Joe-en-es.”

“Whatever,” said the sergeant as the other three officers there cuffed the Dogs. “Now then, nice to see these dogs finally taken down.” Then Rarity and Sunset rode up on an orange dirtbike, amazing Fido.

“You little skank!” he yelled. “You set us up for this, didn’t you?”

“Mmm, truth?” asked Rarity coy. “Of course, Darling. But looking back, you can’t say you didn’t deserve it.”

“New York PD has been interested in taking these hooligans down for years,” said the sergeant. “We’ll have Interpol pick them up and send them back. Now then, as I’m sure you know, the Diamond Dogs have a rather high reward set for them. Nearly two thousand pounds. Whom shall I give it to?”

“Just let Steven here have it,” said Rarity. “It was all his plan.”

“Well, if you insist, I will humbly accept,” said Steven. The police handed him the money just as the Dogs were loaded into a patrol van and carted away. The next day, Steven was wished safe travels from Knapford on Pip and Emma’s express service to London.

“Man, Rarity. I can’t believe it. Two thousand pounds. How could you just turn down two thousand pounds?” asked Rainbow.

“Well, I was just following the example Steven set for me the evening he saved my mother,” said Rarity. “And as he himself told me, Generosity is key.” Then out of nowhere, the purple geode shot out of Sunset’s jacket pocket and flew close to Rarity. Once it did, it changed shape into a small rhombus. Once it floated closer to Rarity’s neck, it formed a gold necklace like the others’, and then her eyes flashed. Once it faded, she squealed happily.

“I just saw my other life!” she said. “Apparently, I was some sort of high-level fashion designer.” Then she gasped. “But then, if that vision holds water, then that might mean that… my designs could be displayed in haute couture boutiques in London, New York, _Paris_!” Then she started stuttering in happiness and wobbling.

“Code Purple! Fainting couch alert on Platform 1!” called Sunset. Quickly, two porters jogged over with an ornate red chaise lounge which Rarity fell into upon fainting.

“Did you come up with that code while I was at college?” asked Twilight.

“Just after you left, actually,” said Sunset. “She was fainting so much, we were getting kinda scared for her head.”

“And she still doesn’t have a concussion?” asked Twilight.

“Oh no, I do darling,” said Rarity. “And I must say; Wow, does it hurt!” Everyone laughed at that and smiled as the railway kept running like clockwork.


	7. Runaway

It was a crisp morning on the Island of Sodor, and Knapford Station was humming with activity, waiting for Gordon’s morning express. Thomas had made sure Platform 1 was clear for his arrival and shunted the coaches as usual, but Gordon was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t understand,” he said to Twilight and the girls on Platform 2. “Gordon’s never late.”

“And I doubt he’ll start today, Thomas,” said Twilight. “There must be a reason as to what’s taking him so long.”

“Must’ve hit some traffic in the yard,” said Pinkie.

“I don’t think so,” said Rainbow as she checked the station clock. “Every engine in the yard knows to give Gordon a wide berth in the morning, so he can be on time.”

As it turned out, Gordon was just having trouble keeping steam up at the yard, so he had accidentally stopped right on the turntable, so Henry had to give him a helping push out of the yard to get the water rolling. Once it was boiling well, Gordon raced down the line to make up for lost time, and rumbled into the yard at a fairly standard speed, much to Rainbow’s delight.

Then, out of nowhere, he screeched on the brakes and whistled loudly before safely coasting into the station. The passengers didn’t exactly like the undue screech and wheesh as they quickly boarded and Gordon moved to the front of the train, but Thomas and the others were confused.

“Are you okay, Gordon?” asked Thomas as he steamed up next to him. “What happened back there?”

Gordon sniffed indignantly as Sunset coupled him to the coaches. “A few hooligans were jumping across the track just as I came in, and I almost clipped one of them with my buffer,” he said. “Honestly, it was bad enough when those boys threw stones at Henry’s passenger trains in 1951, but no one got hurt too badly. This? One of them could’ve gotten killed.” He was still grumbling indignantly when he rumbled away with the coaches. Once he was gone, Rainbow glanced across the platform and saw three familiar girls in the yard near where Gordon had started braking.

One of them had luminous vivid orange hair with brilliant yellow streaks, pale yellow skin and brilliant raspberry eyes, another had moderate purple hair with light brilliant aquamarine streaks, dark skin and moderate mulberry-colored eyes, and the last one had light arctic blue hair with moderate Persian blue stripes, pale skin and moderate raspberry eyes, and all three were dressed like a punk rock band. Rainbow recognized them immediately as the girls’ rival band from when they were at school; Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk, aka the Dazzlings.

Ever since the girls’ band, the Rainbooms, was just starting out at Canterlot High, the Dazzlings had always tried to mess them up; rigging the sound system, blowing lights… Hell, one time Sonata just ran into one of their outdoor concerts with a gun, and they still hadn’t been caught for any of it. But that was about to change.

“Hey! Get back here!” she yelled and ran down the platform. The Dazzlings noticed her and quickly started running out of the yard. Once they got to a red Lamborghini in the yard, they peeled away as fast as they could. “Argh! Lost them!”

“Lost who?” asked Sunset as she and the others ran up to her.

“The Dazzlings. They were the ones who jumped across Gordon’s track,” said Rainbow.

“Ugh. Those three are still giving us grief?” asked Twilight. “Ridiculous.”

“I just hope that last scare knocked some sense into them,” said Sunset. I’m sorry to say that was wishful thinking. In spite of their near miss at the station, the three were laughing in an abandoned warehouse nearby.

“Did you see the look on that blue whale’s face?” laughed Aria.

“Yeah, priceless,” said Sonata. “Wish I got a picture.”

“How bout next time you move faster and then you can get your picture?” suggested Aria. “Speaking of which, I heard a rumor that blue boltbrain’s silver streamlined cousin is gonna be coming in tomorrow. How bout we pull that trick on him?”

“Nah, let’s not,” said Adagio.

“What, you don’t wanna have any more fun with these piles of scrap iron?” asked Aria. Then the door started opening. Quickly, the girls pulled on old hoodies, threw up the hoods and ducked behind a pile of old crates as a few policemen walked in. After having seen the Dazzlings at the station, Rainbow had reported them to the stationmaster, and he to the police. After a minute, the constables left, shutting the doors behind them. Once Adagio had made sure their cars were gone, she and the others pulled their hoods back down.

“Of course not, Aria,” she said. “I just don’t wanna get run over by a duke’s A4 Pacific. Besides, why jump in front of a train when we can just take one?”

“Interesting,” said Aria. “Continue.”

“I’ve been watching that express engine, and every day after he gets back from a run, he rests on his platform with his train for a while,” their ringleader explained. “He’s always there for half an hour until those express diesels from the mainland come in, so that’s our window. Once they show, we’ll take the big lug.” The other girls laughed and agreed to go along with the plan.

The next day, Gordon had indeed pulled into the station right on time with the Wild Nor’ Wester and was waiting at the platform, getting some rest in as he waited for Percy to shunt away his coaches. Over on the other side of the yard, Toby had come in with a cattle truck in tow. Applejack wasted no time in opening the side of the van and letting the large tan stallion with a black mane and tail off the train and up to the platform.

“Wow. Who do we got here, AJ?” asked Rainbow, petting the large mount’s muzzle.

“This here’s Gulch,” said Applejack as she slung a saddle onto the beast’s back and Toby left. “Apple Bloom’s been wantin’ a horse to ride 'round the Vicarage for a long time now, so Granny and the vicar just straight up and bought one fresh from the states. I’m here to help break him in and help get him used to the island’s layout.”

“Actually, why don’t we just let Fluttershy talk to him? She’ll get him to understand better,” said Rainbow. Fluttershy realized she was right. Her Element had allowed her to communicate with animals easier, so once she walked up to Gulch and whispered a few words into his ear, he bowed his head and nickered at the girls, who all took a turn to pet her. Then Twilight noticed something.

“Has anyone seen Sunset?” she asked. Her question was quickly answered when a loud revving came from the road near the end of the platform, which started to freak out Gulch, making him rear up in his hind legs.

“Whoa! Whoa there, Gulchy! Whoa!” yelled Applejack, gripping the reigns to try and get him to calm down. Fluttershy rubbed his side and shushed him in a caring tone to calm him. Once he was okay, the girls walked to the end of the platform and saw Sunset on a 2005 Harley Davidson custom chopper with flames on the front, and a different leather outfit than before. The new jacket had three small metal studs on each shoulder and she was also wearing black jeans, black boots, and metal studded leather gloves.

“Damn Sunset, you’re looking awesome on that thing,” said Rainbow.

“Thanks. Just got this bad boy from the harbor today,” said Sunset, rubbing the bike. “I made the outfit myself. What do you think?”

“I think you look like the Ghost Rider,” said Rarity.

“Funny you should mention that,” said Sunset. “You know how London ComicCon is coming up soon?”

“Yeah, why?” asked Twilight.

“Well, I was thinking about attending and cosplaying as Ghost Rider,” said Sunset. “And of course, what Ghost Rider would be complete without a ride? So I ordered a custom shell for the bike that looks just like the one from the movie and actually lights the tires on fire.”

“Sweet,” said Rainbow.

“And that’s not all. Check this out.” continued Sunset. She pulled sharply down on her jacket and the studs on her shoulders suddenly extended into chrome-plated spikes. She did the same with her gloves and the same happened there. “See? Just like in the movie.”

“Better be careful, Sunset,” said a workman nearby. “People might think you’re going into another bad girl phase.”

“Oh, come on Josh, you know I’m past that,” said Sunset.

“Yeah, I do,” said Josh as he walked over with a length of chain. “By the way, you might need this.”

“Hey thanks,” said Sunset as she accepted the chain and slung it over her shoulder. “Now all I need is a skull mask and I’m good to go for the costume.”

“Not to worry, Sunset,” said Pinkie reaching behind a support beam in the station. “I keep masks stashed all over the island, in case of mask emergencies, and if I recall correctly, the one I stashed here is a skull mask.” Once she pulled her hand back, she saw that she was right; in her hand was a skull mask, complete with articulated jaw. She quickly handed it to Sunset, who put it on and smirked under it.

“This is awesome!” she said. “Watch out, London. The Ghost Rider’s a-comin’.” Nearby, the Dazzlings were watching the whole thing and Adagio rolled her eyes.

“What a geek,” she said until she heard two loud diesel horns. “Alright, that’s the signal. Sonata, stay here and watch for any more cops. Aria and I will secure our new ride.” The two quickly started moving to the large blue engine at the platform. Back with the girls, Pinkie suddenly felt herself leaning against the pillar.

“Are you okay, Pinkie?” asked Applejack.

“I don’t think so,” said Pinkie, holding up her right leg, to show the knee was pinching. “Look at my knee. Pinchy-pinch! Pinchy-pinch!” The girls all looked between themselves in worry. These sorts of things had started happening to Pinkie when she was little, where random things would happen to her body and then unusual events would happen. When her tailbone started twitching, that meant something was about to fall. And when her knee started pinching like it was now, that usually meant something scary was about to happen.

Back with the Dazzlings, Gordon’s crew had just gotten back from afternoon coffee to see Adagio playing with the controls in Gordon’s cab. “Hey!” yelled the driver, who also just so happened to be Rainbow Dash’s father. “What do you think you’re doing?” She and Aria quickly jumped down and the three ran for their lives. The driver almost chased after them, but then he saw that Gordon was starting to move. The big engine yawned as he had felt himself moving and it had roused him from his sleep.

“Oh, is it time to go already?” he asked groggily. When he got no answer, he got suspicious. But when he saw his crew pushing through the crowd to their engine, he was straight-up terrified, even more-so when he felt himself starting to speed up. “Oh dear. Help! I can’t stop!” When Rainbow’s dad ran into her and the girls, who had just installed the newly delivered Ghost Rider motorcycle shell to Sunset’s bike, she was confused.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” she asked having seen Gordon take off.

“Some idiot girls were playing with Gordon’s controls, and now he’s running loose,” said her father.

“Poor old boy,” said Rarity. “I wish there was something we could do to help him before he crashes.”

“There is,” said Rainbow, pulling out a biker helmet. “Gimme a ride, Sunset.”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“Just get me close enough, and I’ll take care of the rest,” said Rainbow. Sunset had put it together in her head, and was shocked, even under her mask.

“Are you insane?” she asked.

“No,” said Rainbow, putting on the helmet. “I’m loyal to my friends, to a fault.” Then the light blue geode in Sunset’s pocket started glowing and wiggling. But after hearing that, she smiled.

“Alright then, let’s do this,” said Sunset.

“No way I’m sittin’ this out,” said Applejack as she saddled up on Gulch’s back. “We’re comin’ with ya.”

“Think you can keep up?” asked Sunset as Rainbow jumped onto the bike.

“Gulch’s owner said he was the fastest horse of the herd,” said Applejack as Gulch’s eyes narrowed in determination and he gave a confident nicker.

**(Play “Ghost Riders in the Sky” – Spiderbait – Ghost Rider)**

“Alright then,” said Sunset as she jumped on her bike and turned on her mp3 player. “Let’s ride,” she finished and revved up her bike, her hair gleaming like fire as the newly modified bike’s wheels burst into flames before she roared off down the road with Gulch on her heels. Sunset laughed like the Spirit of Vengeance itself as the bike roared down the road with Rainbow hanging on tight to her as they roared after Gordon along the road.

The wind from the engine’s connecting rods whirred, the open firebox flared, his smokebox shone in the sun and the steam shot out towards the girls, nearly knocking Applejack from the saddle.

“Quick! Take the next left up ahead!” yelled Applejack as she turned Gulch up a dirt road. But Sunset smirked.

“I like that look,” said Rainbow. “Let’s do it!” Sunset saw a large ramp-like stone near the side of the road up ahead and quickly took it to jump over the fence between the road and the tracks, nearly flying over Gordon, but quickly she pulled the chain off her shoulder and threw it, using it as a makeshift grappling hook, pulling them onto the top of Gordon’s empty train. The Dazzlings, who had poorly chosen to hide on the train, were scared when they heard the thump, and even moreso when they felt the heat from the tires. Sunset quickly turned that off and tied the bike to the train’s roof with bungee cords that Applejack had thrown her from the last bridge, on its side so it wouldn’t get damaged.

“You stop the train, I’ll go terrify the locals,” said Sunset. Rainbow gave her a thumbs-up and started running along the roof of the train. Then Sunset decided to liven things up and pulled a see-through balaclava over her head. This balaclava was made of a special material that according to the manufacturers, would keep a fire burning, but would not burn away. And she’d also had it molded to fit her hair, so it worked for her cosplay perfectly. Then she lit it up with a match, setting her head on fire. Then she swung through the window in front of the Dazzlings.

“Boo!” she yelled, making the girls scream in terror. They tried running back the other way, but Sunset threw her chain around them, tying them down.

Finally, Rainbow had reached Gordon and slid down his coal load to the cab, first sealing the firebox before she closed the regulator and slammed down hard on the brakes. His wheels locked and sparked, so much you might’ve thought he’d catch fire. But at last, he stopped right on the mainline, much to both of their delights.

**(Cut the music.)**

“Whew,” said Gordon relieved. “Thank you, Rainbow. You saved me.”

“Wasn’t all her, partner,” said Applejack, who had ridden up from the bridge. “I helped too, not to mention the Ghost Rider back there.” Then Sunset jumped off with the bound Dazzlings in tow. “I’ve already called the authorities. They’ll be here in a minute to pick these three up. Meantime, we’d best clear the line.”

“Righto then,” said Gordon as he tried to puff forward, but he couldn’t move. It wasn’t until Rainbow inspected him that it was discovered that stopping so quickly over such a long distance had squared all of Gordon’s drive wheels. So Rocky the crane had to be called in to pick him up and take him to the Sodor Steamworks. Once the Dazzlings were arrested, they were sent to Juvenile Hall in Vicarstown and the girls all applauded their work saving Gordon. Her father told Rainbow not to do it again, to which she jokingly replied “No promises”, and after Gordon returned the trains ran like clockwork again.

Later that day, the girls were all getting coffee when Sunset realized something.

“Y’know Rainbow, that might’ve just been the first time I’ve seen you that determined,” she said. “What’s the deal?”

“Well, I’ve always liked Gordon, and my parents have always taught me to be loyal to my friends,” explained Rainbow. “If I let the big guy crash, I wouldn’t be fulfilling my loyalty to him.”

“Trust me,” said Sunset. “I can relate.”

“Man, is it just me or is there something magical about our friendship?” said Twilight. “I’ve never felt more powerful.” Then out of nowhere, the last three geodes; the light blue, purple and red ones, flew out of Sunset’s pocket, hovering in front of Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Sunset respectively. Then out of nowhere, they all started changing shape and color. Rainbow’s geode turned red and reshaped into a lightning bolt, Twilight’s turned into a lavender six-pointed star, and Sunset’s into an orange and yellow sun shape. Then they all slapped into their necks, forming gold necklaces like the others and their eyes started glowing, giving them memories of their lives in the other world as ponies. Once they faded, the necklaces started shimmering and sparking. The girls quickly covered them so as not to cause a panic.

“What just happened?” asked Rainbow.

“I think we just unlocked the geodes’ hidden power,” said Twilight. “The inner power of the Elements of Harmony.”

“We’d better head somewhere else to find out what’s going on,” said Sunset as they all left, having already paid, wondering why Sunset had happened upon the Elements.


	8. Quarry Quarrel

After gaining their Elements, the girls took the next train to the Blue Mountain Quarry to try and understand them.

“I still don’t get it,” said Rainbow near the loading bay. “What were those visions?”

“I’m not sure,” said Twilight. “But practically nothing is known about the history of the Elements of Harmony. For all we know, they could be the keys to a weapon like Voltron or something like that.”

“Either way, we can’t let anyone see this sparking,” said Sunset. “I-” Then as she looked, she saw that the sparking from their necklaces had stopped. They were just ordinary gems now. “Okay, is anyone else getting wigged out right now?” Everyone gave affirmative remarks.

“Hey! You there!” yelled a voice. The girls looked and saw the quarry foreman on the platform nearby. “Are you out of your minds? This is a quarry! Get some safety gear on and get back to work!”

“Oh, uh we don’t actually work here, sir,” said Rainbow. “We just came up here for, um… the mountain air. Really helps clear your head.”

“No argument there, but you still need safety gear,” said an old voice. The girls looked and saw Duke; a brown Ffestiniog Railway "Small England" narrow gauge tender engine, pulling up with a train of stone trucks. “And watch your heads for loose stones.” Then he saw Twilight. “Well, bless my smokebox. And here I thought Thomas was making it up. Twilight, you old scallywag. Good to see you again.”

“It’s mutual, Duke,” said Twilight, patting the old engine. “Nice to see you’re still in steam.”

“Well, Mr. Percival wasn’t about to put me in another shed,” said Duke. “I’ve already been through enough of that.” The two laughed a bit before Duke started coughing and black smoke flew from his funnel.

“Are you okay, Duke?” asked Sunset.

“Fine, fine,” said the old engine. “I think my pipes just need to be cleaned out is all.”

“I could do that if you want,” said Fluttershy. “I don’t mind a little dirt.”

“Which is more than be said for Rarity,” said Applejack, looking as her friend put a shiny purple hardhat on and walked into the main quarry complex.

“Well, thank you Fluttershy,” said Duke. “I’d love to have my pipes cleaned, but I’m backed up with work today. Once I get these trucks to the wharf, I have to bring a shipment of fertilizer to the farms throughout the hills.”

“Not anymore, Granpuff,” said another voice. Everyone looked and saw the Skarloey Railway’s number 4; a green Kerr Stuart Tattoo narrow gauge tank engine with a Giesl funnel named Peter Sam rolled up alongside Duke. He had served with Duke on the same railway years before signing up with the Skarloey Line, then named Stuart.

“What do you mean?” asked Duke.

“Mr. Percival’s been concerned with how you’ve been working,” said Peter Sam. “He’s been worried you’ll knock yourself to scrap without a cleanout, so he’s asked me and Sir Handel to take care of your work for the day while you get some maintenance.”

“Is that so?” asked Duke as he eased away from his train into a siding. “Well, I’ll have to thank him next time I see him. Now then, these trucks are needed on loading dock 3 at the wharf, and the trucks of fertilizer are on track 7 past the warehouse near the canal.”

“I understand, Granpuff,” said Peter Sam as he and Sir Handel; a deep blue engine based off the Talyllyn Railway’s engine Sir Haydn, coupled up to the front of the train. “We’re on it.”

“And girls?” said Sir Handel, drawing their attention. “Watch out for Duncan. He’s been in a particularly bad mood today. Getting back to his old habit of rock-n-roll. You understand.”

“Fully,” said Twilight.

“Thanks for the warning, Sir Handel,” said Sunset as the two steamers rumbled out of the quarry. After a while, Twilight had been shown around the quarry and introduced to all the new engines and machines; Merrick, Owen, Paxton, and Luke. They were a kind bunch. Hard-working too, but Twilight still couldn’t help but feel out of place in the new quarry. Then she heard a loud whistle. She looked at a crossing and saw Duncan; a yellow Barclay E Class engine and Rusty; an orange diesel based on the Talyllyn Railway’s engine Midlander, stopped at a crossing, Rusty’s train across Duncan’s line.

“Oy! Watch where ye’re goin’, Rust-bucket!” growled Duncan, his Scottish accent really showing.

“Rust-bucket? Well, there’s a new one,” said Rusty. “But come on Duncan, I thought we were friends.”

“We are, but not when ye’re blockin’ mah way, now move yer caboose!” said Duncan indignantly. Rusty rolled his eyes and rolled off the crossing.

“It’s not my fault, you know Duncan,” said Rusty. “Some lizard got onto my line and I had to stop to avoid squishing it.” But Duncan was already in the tunnel as Rusty rumbled up to the platform.

“What kind of lizard?” asked Fluttershy, as she finished cleaning out Duke’s pipes.

“Uh, it was sort of tan, black spots, and it was only about half as long, snout to tail, as my buffer is wide,” said Rusty.

“Sounds like a leopard gecko,” said Fluttershy.

“But don’t those only live in Chile?” asked Twilight.

“Probably brought some up for the animal park. They’re opening a new house of reptiles next week,” said Rainbow. “One of them must’ve gotten loose.”

“But why come to a quarry?” asked Rarity.

“A quarry on top of a mountain- that’s it!” said Twilight. “Leopard geckos thrive best at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,000 meters, so this lizard came up here to get to a higher altitude and feel more at home.”

“Well, if he wants to avoid predators, he’s gonna have a hard time blending in,” said Rainbow. “A tiny yellow lizard in Blue Mountain Quarry? We’ll spot him a mile away.” Just then, Duncan’s whistle was heard from the upper levels of the quarry. Everyone looked and saw him running along the mountain track at a breakneck pace.

“There’s something on me!” he yelled. “Get it off! Get it off!” Then Sunset put it together.

“The lizard’s on Duncan, isn’t he?” she asked.

“Probably,” said Twilight. “And if we don’t want the little guy to get hurt, we’ve gotta get him off Duncan before he derails.” Thankfully, he had just gone into another tunnel and Luke knew where it would come out. Quickly, Sunset took her place outside the tunnel and when Duncan came out, she jumped onto his footplate and held onto his handrails for dear life. She scanned the boiler and saw a small tan and black-spotted mass on his black nameplate.

Carefully, she grabbed it, put it in her jacket pocket and jumped to Duke, running alongside Duncan until she jumped on, where he started slowing down until he pulled into the platform. Once there, Sunset stepped off, her legs shaking.

“Are you okay, Sunset?” asked Twilight, putting her arm over her friend’s shoulder.

“I- I’m fine,” said Sunset. “I just- Whew. Remind me never to do something like that again. My adrenaline is still pumping.”

“Duly noted,” said Rarity. Then Sunset felt something fussing in her pocket. She reached in and pulled out the gecko, which looked up at her happily with bright green eyes.

“Aw,” said Sunset, holding the little lizard up to her face. “Well, aren’t you just the most precious little thing?” The gecko licked her face and nuzzled her, making her giggle a bit.

“So! Stinkin’! Cute!” said Pinkie, smiling broadly.

“Well, ain’t he just a little ray o’ sunshine?” asked Applejack and chuckled.

“Hmm. Ray. Yeah, that’s what I’ll call you,” said Sunset. “What do you think, buddy?” Ray smiled at her and started crawling on her face, making her giggle a bit. Just then, Percy steamed into the quarry with a small red coach in tow. From the coach jumped one of the keepers from the Sodor Animal Park.

“Oh, there he is,” he said and walked over to Sunset. “Come on, little fella. It’s time to go home.” Ray just crawled into Sunset’s hair and tried to hide.

“Uh, sorry sir, but I don’t think he wants to stay in a cage for people to just look at him,” said Sunset.

“Well of course not,” said the keeper. “He and his friends are going to the park’s petting zoo.”

“What I think Sunset means, sir, is that Ray wants to stay with her,” said Twilight.

“Ray? You named him?” asked the keeper.

“Yeah. Besides, I think he really likes me,” said Sunset as Ray crawled out onto her nose. The keeper saw how happy he was and smiled.

“Well alright,” he said. “I suppose you can keep him. But you must know, keeping a lizard like him as a pet takes a lot of responsibility.”

“I understand sir,” said Sunset as she let Ray crawl out onto her hand. “But I know I can take care of him. And I know he’ll be happiest with me. Isn’t that right, little guy?” Ray responded by nuzzling his new owner lovingly. The keeper smiled.

“Alright then, he’s all yours,” he said. “Take good care of him.” Then he climbed back onto the coach Percy brought, and the little engine reversed onto the turntable, but when he found the table’s balance, he stopped too suddenly, and the coupling snapped, letting the coach coast to the exit.

“Bust my buffers!” said Percy worried. “If the coach reaches the cliff, we’ll never catch it!”

“And what’s worse;” said Duke. “That’s the track for inbound trains. And Henry’s due up any minute! If that coach isn’t stopped fast, there might be a serious accident.”

“I’ve got this!” said Rainbow as she started running after the coach, which had just hit the slope and was picking up the pace.

“Rainbow, are you outta yer mind?! You’ll never catch that thing on foot!” yelled Applejack. But then, Rainbow’s hand brushed by her necklace, touching the red gem in it. It started glowing, and the next thing she knew, Rainbow was running almost as fast as Gordon, if not faster. Quickly, she knew what to do with her speed and ran out in front of the coach, grabbing its bufferbeam. Then she started running back the other way, but she was having trouble getting a grip with her shoes.

“Uh AJ?! I really hate to be the ‘A little help’ girl, you know I do, but… A little help?!” she yelled up the slope. Applejack and the others were looked down the slope and were still amazed at what just happened.

“What on earth was that?” asked Rarity. Then Twilight realized it.

“That was her Element’s power!” she said. “When we touch the Elements, we get some sort of superpower. Applejack, you yourself said you felt yourself getting stronger ever since you first put on that necklace, right?”

“Oh yeah,” said Applejack. “That’s right. Maybe that’s mah power; super-strength. Hang on Dash! Imma comin’!” Then she pulled a lasso off her belt and threw it around the coupling hook on the coach. Then she touched her necklace and felt her muscles tense with extra power. She carefully and slowly pulled on the rope, not even breaking a sweat as the coach slowly rumbled up the slope. Soon, the coach was at the top of the slope and Fluttershy was seeing to the passenger’s wellbeing.

“Yee-hoo!” cheered Applejack. “That was intense!”

“Are you kidding?” asked Rainbow. “That! Was! AWESOME!”

“We must all have these powers,” said Fluttershy. “we could save the island with them.”

“Maybe, but if people see us using these powers, they could target us through those we love,” said Twilight. “Our parents, the engines, maybe even my unborn niece.”

“So what do you suggest?” asked Sunset. Rarity gasped and gave an excited giggle.

“Oh boy,” said Rainbow worried. “Usually when this happens, it means she has an idea.”

“Indeed I do, and it’s ingenious!” said Rarity. “First off, we test our powers and figure out what they are, and then, we make costumes!” Twilight mulled it over and smiled.

“Y’know, that’s actually not a bad idea,” she said. “As long as our costumes have masks, we should be okay.”

“So, we’re basically gonna become superheroes?” asked Sunset. “That actually sounds kinda fun.”

“Alright then,” said Twilight, as they all put their hands in the middle. “Let’s do it!”


	9. Pack Attack

On the Island of Sodor, there are plenty of projects that require more than just engine power, most of them involving construction. And to that end, the Sodor Construction Company, run by the Irish woman Ms. Jenny Packard, was formed to accelerate the pace of construction work on Sodor. Ms. Jenny, as she was often called, and her crew could handle almost any job themselves, but that didn’t stop some of the locals from volunteering to help quite often.

One morning, Sir Topham Hatt was handing out the morning assignments when Ms. Jenny rolled up on board Jack, the company’s red International 454 tractor.

“Beggin’ yer pardon sir, but the Pack was just handed a rather large job up at Harwick,” she said. “If ya wouldn’t sparin’ a few engines for supplies and transport, we’d have it done much quicker.”

“Ah yes, the new expansion for the station yard,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “I was just getting to that.” Then he turned back to the engines. “Thomas, Percy and Edward, you’ll be helping the pack with the work on Harwick. Ryan will be there to help as well, so you’ll have plenty of help. Are you up for it?”

“Yes Sir,” said Thomas.

“We can take care of it,” added Percy.

“We have it under control, Sir,” finished Edward.

“Excellent,” said the controller. “Well, you all know your jobs. Off you go then.”

“Yes sir,” said all the engines and one by one, they steamed away. At Knapford Station, the girls were looking over the costumes Rarity had created for their superhero alter-egos. And to put it bluntly, they were quite extravagant. Incredibly brightly-colored with crystal shoulder pads, and on three of them, there were even crystal wings on the backs.

“Well? What do you think?” asked Rarity.

“Well, if we’re going for ‘Most obvious superheroes ever’, we’re nailing it,” said Rainbow. “But in terms of stealth?”

“Sort of lacking,” said Sunset, letting her new gecko Ray crawl around on her shoulders. “I mean, what if we need to take down a crook at night or something?”

“Hmm. Yes, I was wondering about that,” said Rarity. “Twilight darling, you wouldn’t happen to have some sort of stealth technology I can incorporate into these, would you?” Twilight just smirked.

“Rarity, do you even remember who you’re talking to?” she asked, holding up a high-tech seeming roll of thread. “I practically reinvented stealth tech at high school.” She handed the roll to her, but then she saw Thomas and the others coming into the station. “Quick, hide the costumes!” Rarity quickly did so by throwing them back into her white Rolls Royce Ghost. Then they saw the four engines rolling toward the shunting yard, followed by Jack and Ms. Jenny.

“Wonder what’s going on,” said Rainbow.

“Probably something to do with that new Harwick expansion,” said Applejack. “Granny read about it in the paper this morning.”

“Hey, doesn’t Starlight live up at Harwick?” asked Twilight, remembering another old friend she had helped turn to the side of good.

“Oh yeah,” said Sunset. “You haven’t seen each other in ages. Cmon, let’s go say hi.”

“Are you sure Ms. Jenny will let us ride along with her and the Pack?” asked Rarity.

“What’s that, lass? You wanna ride along?” asked Ms. Jenny from Jack’s cabin. “Well, whatchu over there for? Cmon, let’s go! Rosie, we’re gonna need a coach as well!”

“Coming right up!” said Rosie as she shunted trains of flatbeds behind the other four engines. She shunted the coach behind Thomas and the others boarded.

“Right, now remember; First, we have to pick up the others at the company yard,” said Ms. Jenny as Jack drove up the ramps onto the first truck behind Thomas. “You know the way, right Thomas?”

“Of course, Ms. Jenny,” said Thomas. “Just follow me, everyone.” Then the signals went green and the three engines rolled down the line. Once at Crovan’s Gate, they switched off onto the loop and pulled up at a yard with a lot of garages and a low platform where all the vehicles were parked, ready for loading.

“Alright boys, load up Thomas’ train first, then the others,” said Ms. Jenny. Starting behind Jack, onto Thomas’ train rolled a green 1960 K1C10&K excavator named Alfie, a brown crawler excavator named Oliver, and a brown-red Aveling and Porter R10 class steamroller named Buster.

Percy’s train was loaded with a black Scammell 15LA ballast tractor named Nelson, a maroon and cream 1943 Mack NM3 lorry with a fitted cement drum named Patrick, Max and Monty, and a yellow Sentinel DG4 flatbed steam lorry named Isobella.

Edward’s train was loaded with a brown and orange Erie Type B steam shovel named Ned, a yellow caterpillar bulldozer named Byron and a navy-blue Coles Vintage 1937 EMA 5 Austin K6 lorry with a cream crane arm named Kelly.

Soon enough, the convoy was on its way and had arrived at Harwick Station. Once there, the pack saw what they were in for. The yard was very small, with trucks shoved haphazardly into random sidings and a warehouse near the back that looked like it might collapse at any moment, surrounded by smaller broken shacks that were just begging to be broken down.

“Right boys,” said Ms. Jenny. “Now that we’ve made it, here’s the job; We have to rip down that warehouse and make room for more track and more trucks. Everyone clear on that?”

“Yes, Ms. Jenny,” said everyone as they all rolled off the trains. While the pack was set to work, the girls were looking around to try and find their friend. Stacey Glenson, better known to her friends as Starlight Glimmer; a girl with purple eyes and purple hair streaked with light blue, was even more of a tomboy than Rainbow Dash. Today she was wearing her usual outfit of black jeans, black high-heeled boots and a pale heliotrope t-shirt under a black jean vest with an eight-pointed star and light blue swirl on the back.

The girls found her near the yard with another man with deep blue eyes and bright vermillion hair and a short Oliver Queen-style goatee, wearing an orange Eddie Bauer overshirt with the sleeves rolled up over a white long-sleeve shirt, jeans, black shoes, and a pair of silver thin-rim glasses. His name was Samuel Butler, but everybody always called him Sunburst. He and Starlight had been friends since they were kids, but Twilight and the others knew she thought of him as more if you catch my drift.

“Starlight! How’ve you been?” said Twilight as she jogged over. Starlight looked and smiled.

“Twilight? He-hey, girl! Get in here!” she said and grabbed her in a hug. “Man, it’s been ages. Good to see you. Uh, you remember Sunburst, right?”

“How could I forget? One of my greatest intellectual rivals back in school,” she said, hugging him. “Good to see you again.”

“You too, Twilight,” he said. “And not to worry, I’ve been taking good care of Owlowiscious while you were gone.” Then as if on cue, a large great-horned owl flew down and started flying around Twilight’s head, making her giggle. “Though as you can see, he missed you something awful. Here, you might need this.” Then he fished a blue falconry glove out of his bag and slipped it onto her hand, which the large owl then took the opportunity to land on.

“Thanks, Sunburst,” said Twilight as she scratched under her owl’s beak. “So what are you guys doing these days?”

“Eh, y’know, the usual,” said Starlight. “But today, Ms. Jenny asked Sunburst for help with the demo work.”

“Really?” asked Rainbow. “I don’t see you as a demo-man, dude.”

“Well, I’m not doing any actual demolition. I’m just helping her plan everything out,” said Sunburst, unrolling a picture of the yard from a bird’s-eye-view. “I had Owlowiscious fly over the yard with a camera in his beak and get a picture for me, thanks for that by the way boy,” Owlowiscious hooted at him, saying “you’re welcome” to the young man. “Now then, I’ve used that picture and the plans Ms. Jenny gave me to make a general plan for how to set about ripping this place down.” Then he started marking on the ground-level picture of the warehouse he already had out. “Uh, Ms. Jenny, could you come here please, I think I’ve got something.” The company owner came over at once.

“Right, Whaddaya got?” she asked.

“Okay, so if we could just have Oliver crack out the wrecking ball to start things off, the walls will come down,” said Sunburst, using Mattel Wooden Railway models of the pack to plan things out. “Then Kelly can lift the roof off and we can scrap that for the metal, and then we just let Byron pull down the frame and we’re good to go.”

“What about the rafters?” asked Starlight, pointing to the wooden beams in the roof on the blueprints.

“Those’ll come down with the frame,” said Sunburst, turning to Ms. Jenny. “What do you think? Feasible?”

“A thing o’ beauty, lad,” she said. “Alright, boys! Here’s the plan. Oliver, get the wrecking ball. You’re on the walls. Kelly, you take up the roof. Byron, once it’s clear, you knock down the supports. Everyone else, bring in supplies and load trucks with debris. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am!” said the Pack, as they were affectionately nicknamed.

“Right. Then let’s get to it!” she said. Soon enough, the whole pack was hard at work, taking down the old shacks and loading open trucks in the yard. Once loaded, the branch-line’s purple GNR N2/1 named Ryan, shunted them out to the platform in long trains to be taken away by the other engines, who came back with more supplies and more fuel for the Pack.

Unfortunately, Oliver was having trouble knocking down the warehouse as the brickwork was much stronger than it appeared. It endured even the biggest wrecking ball the Pack had brought and only one or two loose bricks from the top fell off.

Rainbow laughed. “Maybe we should let Ned plow into it,” she said. “That worked well last time.” Oliver grimaced at the reminder of when the steam shovel knocked down a large factory he was struggling with just by bumping into the chimney. And at the reminder of the bricks that hit him in the roof.

“Don’t remind me,” he said.

“It might work,” said Ned as he rumbled up. He rolled back and swung hard at the wall, banging his shovel against it, but all he succeeded in doing was putting a measurable dent in his shovel. A dent that, in fact, jammed his shovel shut.

“Oh bunkers,” he said, bringing his shovel to the ground. “There goes the weekend. Now I have to get repairs,” Applejack saw this as a chance to use her powers for good and cracked her knuckles.

“Y’know, big guy, it ain’t actually that bad,” she said, touching her necklace and feeling her powers activate. Then she stuck her hands into the shovel. “It just needs a little…” Then she pushed against the dent and it unbent into its usual shape. “There we go. Try it now.” Ned was surprised at her strength, and even moreso when his shovel opened.

“Incredible,” said Jack who had seen it.

“How’d you do that?” asked Byron.

“I dunno,” said Applejack, stretching. “Guess all that farm-work made me stronger than I might’ve thought.”

“Well, either way, doesn’t look like this place is comin’ down,” said Ms. Jenny, running her hand through her red hair before replacing her hard hat. “Either we need a bigger wrecking ball or some way to weaken the concrete.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Ms. Jenny,” said Patrick, looking closely at the material. “I know this kind of concrete, it’s the same as the stuff I use for laying foundations. Meant to be practically unbreakable.”

“Why would someone use foundation concrete for a wall?” asked Starlight.

“Search me, but there must be some way to take this thing down,” said Ms. Jenny and she walked into the old warehouse. No sooner had she entered then Max and Monty roared into the yard, riding rough as usual. Twilight saw them and was instantly worried.

“Everyone out of the way!” she yelled. Quickly, the rest of the Pack drove out of the twins’ way, but by the time Ms. Jenny understood what was happening, it was too late. Max crashed into the corner of the warehouse, scattering bricks and splitting the support beam. The building started to rock, and screws broke in many wood joints. Ms. Jenny quickly started to run out, but a broken board fell from the upper floor and landed on her leg, sending her down.

“Ms. Jenny!” called Jack. “Someone has to get in there and get her!”

“And let her rail at us?” asked Monty as he pulled his brother free. “No thank you.” And the two of them roared away.

“Kelly, can your hook reach her?” asked Jack.

“Even if it could, this place is about to come down, and I can’t risk damaging my arm,” he said. “You have any idea how much repairs set us back last time?”

“Alfie?” asked Jack.

“No, the door’s too low, even for me,” said the excavator.

“Leave it to me,” said Starlight. Everyone looked at her amazed, and before Sunburst could say anything in protest, she already ran into the warehouse to Ms. Jenny’s side. “Hang on, ma’am, I’ve got you!” Then she started moving the board.

“Starlight Glimmer, you’re either the bravest kid I’ve ever met or the dumbest,” said the Irishwoman.

“Pray it’s the first option,” said Starlight as she moved the board. “Can you walk?”

“Ugh, no, feels like me leg’s broken,” said Ms. Jenny. “I’m not gonna make it far.” Starlight scanned the warehouse for a way out and finally saw one; an empty doorway in the back wall.

“Then we’ll go out the back! Hurry!” she said and heaved Ms. Jenny up onto her shoulder, carrying her out of the building just before it went down. The dust cloud was very large and practically blinded everyone. At last, the heroic Starlight made it to the platform, covered in dust but still in one piece, with Ms. Jenny on her shoulder. The others ran up cheering and hugged them.

“Starlight, that was amazing!” said Sunburst.

“Well done, las,” said Ms. Jenny as she sat on the station bench. “You’d make a mother proud!”

“It’s the least I could do, Ms. Jenny,” said Starlight. “I’ve always wanted to be thought of as a hero.” Then the dust cleared and amazingly, the wall Oliver was trying to knock down was completely unfazed by the collapse. It was still standing, as strong as ever.

“Aw come on!” said the exasperated excavator. Everyone in the station laughed, but then Twilight noticed something in the dirt near the rubble. Something that looked like a book.

“Owlowiscious, can you grab that for me please?” she asked, pointing to it. Owlowiscious hooted in an affirmative tone and flew over, grabbing the book in his talons, but it would barely budge. He gave one strong heave and it came out of the soil, still dirty but in one piece. She took it and let her bird perch nearby. She blew on it and saw an elaborate cover with swirls and light blue stars on the front cover.

She then opened it, but couldn’t make head nor tail of it. Sunburst was walking by behind her and saw it. “Old English,” he identified.

“Yeah, I know the language, I just don’t know how to read it,” said Twilight. She started flipping through the pages and saw that Old English wasn’t the only language in the book. Some pages were written in Louisiana Creole, Old Celtic, Latin, Ancient Chinese, even ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Twilight was astonished. She knew this book needed further study, along with the girls’ powers, but two questions weighed on her mind as she closed the book.

“ _Why did we find these old relics?_ ” she thought. “ _And what could we possibly need them for?_ ”


	10. Legends of Yester-Year

After finding the small notebook at the Harwick construction site, the girls had agreed to bring Starlight and Sunburst into their new “crusade”, and explained everything at Ulfstead Castle.

“I can’t believe it,” said Sunburst. “The Bronies actually existed? A-And you found the Elements of Harmony?”

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “Somehow. And we think this journal we found at Harwick Yard has something to do with it.”

“So is that why you brought us to what’s basically the biggest museum on the island?” asked Starlight as they walked into the castle.

“Well, who knows?” said Twilight. “Maybe the Earl has something in his collection that could help us with our search.” As they wandered through the large halls of the castle, Twilight kept pouring over the book to try and make some sort of sense of it. She decided to start with the sections that were in Louisiana French because at least that was a language she could understand, but even then, she was having issues with reading it, partially because the context was too insane to make sense of, and partially because the handwriting was surprisingly sloppy. Then she found one word she could make out. A name.

“Hey guys, check it out,” she said. “I think I found a name here.” The others quickly came over and looked at the page. “Right here. ‘Meadowbrook’. Does that mean anything to anyone?” Fluttershy gasped and gave an excited squeaking noise. “I take it you know something?”

“Mage Meadowbrook was the Mystical Mask: one of the best healers in the whole Louisiana Bayou,” said Fluttershy.

“‘Mystical Mask’?” asked Rainbow. “Weird title.”

“Not really,” said Twilight. “Back in those days, people believed most sicknesses spread through the air, so healers wore masks with large nose-guards filled with herbs to protect them from infection.”

“And it worked out for people like Meadowbrook,” said Fluttershy. “One of my favorite legends was based on one of her curing journeys. My parents told me the story every time I was sick in bed.”

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” said a voice. “Tell it.” The team looked over and saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and a third girl nearby. That third girl was one of Rainbow’s biggest fans with purple hair and eyes and a tan. She almost always wore orange and today was no exception. Her name was Jessie Scooters, but everybody called her Scootaloo because she rode her motorized scooter everywhere. The three had a small club they had started together, called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, dedicated to helping kids their age find their lot in life.

“Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah, aren’t you kids supposed to be at school?” asked Rainbow.

“Class field trip, remember?” asked Scootaloo. “Stephen gave us a ride up, but we’re honestly kinda bored.”

“So what’s the legend?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well, it starts out like this…” said Fluttershy and she told her friends the legend of Mage Meadowbrook, but somehow the voices of the people echoed as if they were right there with them.

**(Shift to the story. Fluttershy narrating)**

Deep out in the bayou, there was once a small town called Hayseed Swamp. Meadowbrook; a young woman with pink hair and turquoise eyes, lived in a hut carved out of a tree in the swamp, where she served as an apprentice healer under her mother. She tended everyone and everything in the bayou; people, animals, anything that needed real medicine, and not the snake oil most “healers” handed out in the towns of Louisiana.

One day, she had finally perfected her potion to cure the flu, and it was a resounding success for the people around the swamp. When she got home, her mother had a special surprise in the form of a large box on the table.

“Meadowbrook, you’ve come so much farther than I thought you would,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anythin’ left for me to teach you.”

“Ma, that ain’t true,” said Meadowbrook. “I know I can learn more from ya.”

“Cmon now honeybunch,” said her mother. “You’re the best healer in the swamp. And I’m sure you’ll still be healin’ the world long after I’m gone. And this is proof of that.” Then she handed the box to her daughter and let her open it. When she did, she was amazed to see a large yellow beak-shaped face-mask with light blue stripes and two feathers near the top. When she pulled it out of the box, she felt it was already heavy with herbs.

“My own mask, Ma?”  she asked amazed. “You really think I’m ready?”

“I know you are,” said her mother. Then a knock came at the door. “Come in.” The door opened to allow a young man with orange spots all over his body to stumble in.

“Help me,” he groaned and coughed loudly before falling on the ground. Meadowbrook and her mother quickly put their masks on and moved closer to the young man to investigate him.

“What caused this?” asked her mother. The young man reached into the sack he had brought with him and pulled out an orange-spotted lily-pad with a flower on the top. Meadowbrook reached for it, but the young man pulled it away.

“Don’t touch the flower,” he said. “It might infect you.”

“Wait a sec,” said Meadowbrook’s mother. “Orange spots, weakness, coughing, caused by a flower? No. That ain’t possible. It died out ages ago.”

“What is it, Ma?” asked Meadowbrook. Her mother took off her mask and looked at her daughter in concern.

“It’s something I ain’t seen since I was a girl,” she said. “Swamp Fever.”

**(Leave the story)**

“Swamp Fever?” asked Rainbow. “That sounds made up.”

“It’s not,” said Sunset, looking at her phone. “It’s a real disease, FDA confirmed. Aside from what Meadowbrook’s mother said, the symptoms include violent sneezing, confusion, partial paralysis and then death. And as of now, no cure has been discovered.”

“Not by anyone from this time, but Meadowbrook?” asked Fluttershy. “She discovered it and cured the whole swamp. Anyway…”

**(Shift back to the story)**

Since that young man arrived, Meadowbrook and her mother worked as hard as they could to find a cure, but all they succeeded in doing was getting her mother infected. Soon enough, the disease spread like wildfire, and the bayou was soon in grave danger.

Meadowbrook tried and tried to find a cure on her own, and one day, while staring at the flowers floating on the water, she saw a native bee-species called flash-bees buzzing around them. They released the usual cloud of orange pollen, but the bees were unaffected as they gathered the flowers’ nectar and flew away, without developing orange spots.

That’s when it hit her; If the flash-bees were immune to the disease, their honey might be the cure she’d been searching for. She quickly followed the bees back to their hive and tried to get it, but flash-bees are much more aggressive about defending their hive than any other species. She had only gotten a brief peek into the hive, but she noticed something about the bees; they all treated their queen with respect, and the markings on the queen bee’s face matched the markings on her mask to a tee.

“Well, I s'pose it’s worth a try,” said her mother when she told her. “Just make sure you don’t turn away from them once you’ve got their attention.”

“I won’t, ma,” said Meadowbrook, picking up her mask. “Looks like it’s just mind-over-matter now.”

“Good luck, baby,” said her mother. Meadowbrook could see the color starting to leave her eyes, so she didn’t have much time to waste. She grabbed her mask and plenty of vials to carry the honey and went back to the hive.

When she got to the hive, she put her mask down and acted normal, and the bees quickly cleared out of the hive. Meadowbrook quickly gathered as much honey as she could and ran back to town, first giving her mother the medicine and sending her springing back to her feet. Then the two distributed the honey around the town and the people were saved.

**(Leave the story)**

“After that, the people made more masks like Meadowbrook’s and gathered more honey, in case another outbreak occurred,” said Fluttershy. “And Meadowbrook left in the company of a powerful wizard to help cure the rest of the world. But she only made it as far as Europe before she vanished without a trace.” This sparked a strange look in Applejack’s eye.

“That’s weird,” she said. “My favorite legend ends the same way.”

“Yeah, so does mine,” said Rainbow.

“Does everyone have a favorite legend that ends like that?” asked Twilight. Everyone nodded and gave affirmative remarks.

“That’s just weird,” said Starlight as they kept looking around the castle. Once they got to the Celtic hallway on the eastern side, Sweetie looked at the book and saw a few similar runes in one of the tapestries.

“Hey Twilight, look!” she said, pointing to the tapestry. “I think this might help.” The others looked and saw the large tapestry was of a strong man with a scraggly orange beard and a shovel in his hand standing on a mountain overlooking an old Celtic village. Once she saw it, Apple Bloom let out a high-pitched squeal and grabbed Applejack.

“Sis, look at this!” she said. “It’s him!” Applejack looked closer and saw the man in the tapestry and seemed to remember him as well.

“Well, Whaddaya know? It _is_ him,” said Applejack.

“Him who, darling?” asked Rarity. “Who is this?”

“This is the subject of our favorite legend; Rockfoot,” said Applejack. “The strongest man in his village. But he didn’t actually start out that way. See, Rockfoot here was a scrawny little feller, a farmer’s child like me and Apple Bloom.”

“Only way stronger,” said Apple Bloom. “And so much faster, and when he-”

“D’AH! Imma have to ask you to stop right there,” said Rainbow. “No spoilers!”

“Sorry,” said Apple Bloom. “But it’s such a good story!”

“He and his people lived in a small village near the foot of the Lambay Island volcano off the coast of Dublin …” said Applejack, pointing to the tapestry and following along it as she told the story, with the same strange echoing voices.

**(Switch to story. Applejack narrating)**

And the village was protected by an elite clan of warriors known as the Mighty Helm. The young Rockfoot wanted nothing more than to be a part of the Mighty Helm, but their commander, who also happened to be the village chief, laughed.

“Someone scrawny as you?” he asked. “You’d be better off digging holes for the latrine. Here, put this shovel to good use.” Then he threw Rockfoot a large shovel and the guards shoved him out of the great hall. The young farmer was too determined to let that get in too deep. He made it his life-mission to one day become part of the Mighty Helm, and he was going to keep that promise to himself no matter what.

But until then, he set to work digging as he was ordered. Then one day, it happened. Beerenberg erupted, sending lava pouring down to the village. The Mighty Helm argued and argued, but couldn’t come to any sort of consensus on what to do, so the chief made the order.

“We must evacuate the village!” he bellowed. “It’s our only hope.” But the people didn’t want to leave their homes, so the Mighty Helm was forced to leave without them. But Rockfoot just decided to do something crazy; he ran up to the edge of the village and started digging a trench.

**(Leave the story)**

“How would that help?” asked Rainbow.

“Well, see the village was near the beach, so he figured that if he could divert the lava’s flow, he could save the town,” said Applejack.

“So he just started digging? By himself?” said Twilight.

“It’d be impossible for someone to dig that fast, even for me,” said Rainbow, egotistic as ever. Apple Bloom just gave a small fangirl squeal as her sister continued.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing Rockfoot didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘Impossible’.” she said.

**(Get back to it)**

He just kept digging. He knew the odds were against him, but he was more than determined to save his town. Then out of nowhere, something magical happened.

His shovel struck a stone in the ground and a magical glow flowed up the pole. Once it hit him, he grew visibly stronger. His muscles grew exponentially, he grew at least a few inches in height, and he grew the massive beard shown in the tapestry.

Like most others, he naturally assumed his new power was a gift from the gods, who had recognized his unwavering willpower and granted him the power to save his village. Knowing what to do, he finished the trench in a matter of seconds and let the lava flow out to the harbor, saving his village.

**(Leave the story)**

“Through his unshakable determination, and sheer force o’ willpower, Rockfoot more than earned his place among the Mighty Helm,” said Applejack. “He sailed with them on several other missions, and once, when visitors from Europe came, he signed up with some wizard and disappeared without a trace.”

“Just like Meadowbrook’s legend,” said Fluttershy. “This can’t all be a coincidence.”

“Well, unless there are entries in that book written by other legendary people, I think it might be,” said Rainbow. Then as they were walking around the castle grounds, they found themselves in a large garden where Rarity found herself under a large pink sakura tree. She spun a bit under the lovely branches before she sat down in a meditative position.

“I must say, the Earl really has been a well-traveled person,” she said, looking around. “This place is gorgeous.”

“Yeah, it really is,” said Sweetie Belle. “I just wish the rest of the castle looked like this. It could seriously need more decoration.”

“Well, that isn’t exactly true, Sweetie Belle,” said Rarity, standing up and walking to the wall. “There’s beauty in everything in the world. Even these blah wall-stones aren’t really blah. Here, let me show you. Uh Twilight, could I trouble you for your brush? I believe you know which one I mean.”

“I do indeed,” said Twilight, handing her friend a small archeological brush.

“You see, if you look closely enough at these stones,” said Rarity, brushing away dust to reveal shining yellow. “You can see flecks of precious metal in them. And the way the torchlight in the foyer dances on the floor… Shadow art, simply gorgeous. Which brings to mind my favorite legend.”

“You have one too?” asked Sunset.

“Indeed I do,” said Rarity. “She was a Chinese woman known as Wù Zōng, but the name everyone knew here better as was Mistmane.”

“Mistmane?” asked Rainbow. “Isn’t she that wrinkly old sorceress with the immortal flower?”

“Yes,” said Rarity, with a tone of chagrin in her voice. “But, did you know that she was the most beautiful woman in all of China?”

“No,” said Rainbow flatly.

“So what happened to her?” asked the younger ones.

“Well, centuries ago in China,” said Rarity, catching a cherry blossom from the tree in her hand. “Mistmane was a very promising young sorceress…” The voices started echoing yet again.

**(Switch to story. Rarity narrating)**

She was as talented in magic, as she was beautiful and kind. Her hair, bright shades of opal and turquoise, flew behind her in the wind, and her shining cerulean eyes were the envy of every woman she came across. All in her village loved her and missed her horribly when she was sent to the greatest magic school in Anyang. All but her best friend, Sable Spirit, a woman with purple hair and eyes. More on her later.

While Mistmane was at school, she received news that Sable had been crowned Empress and had taken up residence at the palace in Beijing known as the Forbidden City. She was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to visit until she finished her studies. But when she arrived, she was devastated by what she saw. The city had basically been laid to ruins, and nothing beautiful remained.

“What happened here?” she asked a passing villager.

“The empress happened,” he said. “She makes everyone in China work day and night on the Forbidden City like slaves. We don’t have time to take care of anything else, and even if we did, the empress has taken everything beautiful that remained in Beijing. There’s no point.”

“But that makes no sense. I know the empress; she’s my best friend,” said Mistmane. “I know she would never do anything like this.” But she could not deny what was right in front of her. A young boy ran down the street in front of her with a flower in his hand, which was suddenly taken by a red magic aura from a large carriage nearby. Obviously, it was Sable as she rode back to the Forbidden City. Mistmane was sure there had to be some sort of explanation for this.

**(Leave the story)**

“I’d assume so too, if any of you guys went evil out of nowhere,” said Starlight.

“Agreed, I’d never believe it,” said Sunset.

“I dunno,” said Applejack. “I’ve seen how you guys can get. Remember that one time when Rainbow missed breakfast ‘cause she was in such a rush?” Everyone chuckled at that a bit. “But yeah, I’d want an explanation too.”

“As did Mistmane,” said Rarity. “So she went to the palace to confront her old friend.”

**(Back to the story)**

It was relatively easy for Mistmane to gain access, as she merely told the guards she was the empress’ oldest friend and they let her into the throne room posthaste to find a woman sitting on the throne with a thick black veil on her face.

“Sable?” she asked. “Is that truly you?”

“Of course, it is, Mistmane,” said the Empress. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize your oldest friend.”

“I’m sorry to say I don’t,” said Mistmane philosophically. “My friend would never work our people to the bone for something as meager as a palace.”

“‘Meager’?” asked Sable, standing up. “The Forbidden City is a beacon of beauty. Any who pass will be in awe of its majesty!”

“What good is a beautiful palace if it only hides the misery of the country’s citizens?” asked Mistmane.

“Beauty is everything, Mistmane,” said Sable, stroking the flower she took from the boy outside. “You should know that best, for you’re the one who taught me that!”

“What?!” asked Mistmane. “What on Earth are you talking about?”

“You know full well what I’m talking about,” said Sable as she walked to her friend. “You were always the pretty one back home. You got to go to the best magic school in China. Everyone missed you. Everyone _adored_ you. I must admit that I was jealous, so I tried to perform a spell to make me even more beautiful than you. You can see how well that went!” As she moved her veil, Mistmane saw it didn’t go well; Instead of making her a gorgeous maiden, Sable’s spell had made her a pale wrinkly hag. “So I vowed that if I couldn’t have beauty, I would take it! I wasn’t simply _chosen_ to be empress, you know. I _took_ the throne and power for myself. Just as I will soon take everything else.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” said Mistmane, taking a stance. Sable laughed as she turned to her friend.

“‘Let me’?” she asked and laughed. “You make it sound as if I give you a choice in the matter.” Then she shot a spell from her hands and large vines formed around Mistmane. But they were quickly blasted away by the sorceress’ own magic, with barely a scratch on her face. Then the two both used their magic to summon magic dragon avatars, which moved into battle all the way to the palace garden.

Sable growled and gave violent movements to control her dragon, while Mistmane moved in concert with hers in style and grace, wrapping Sable’s dragon with her own, and destroying it. Then the dragon shot down to a large potted plant near the side. The plants then shot from the pot and wrapped Sable in a large cocoon, rendering her immobile.

When the news spread like the wildfire it was, everyone believed Sable Spirit was defeated and that was the end of it, but Mistmane knew there was more she could do to help her people. She recognized the flower from the child as a rare immortal Dragon Lily, which stayed beautiful no matter the conditions and took it outside.

Beauty isn’t everything, but Mistmane knew it held the power to make people smile as she planted the flower outside the palace. She then used it as a conduit to cast a spell to be sure to restore the country’s beauty and bring that smile back to the faces of the people of China, including Sable Spirit, who fell from her plant cocoon back to the way she was before. But as she saw when Mistmane walked back in, the spell had taken a great toll on her; In order for it to work, Mistmane had to sacrifice all of her physical beauty, leaving her with the appearance of a wrinkled old woman.

“You did this for me?” asked Sable as she pulled herself up. “Even after I was so cruel?”

“You let your envy cloud your judgment,” said Mistmane. “I only hope I can help you change that, and live above your sense of envy.” Then she pulled her oldest friend into a hug.

“I already have,” Sable said and wept. “Thank you.” Sable was so touched by her friend’s sacrifice, that she vowed to be more like her in the ways that mattered. From that day forward, she ruled with kindness and compassion.

**(Leave the story)**

“Even though she surrendered her physical beauty, she dedicated her life to spreading beauty all over the world,” Rarity concluded. “Anytime you go out of your way to brighten someone’s day by, oh say, giving them flowers, there are people who will say you are following in the footsteps of Mistmane.” Then she set the cherry blossom out to float on the pond nearby.

“I think Mistmane’s my favorite legend too,” said Sweetie Belle, hugging her sister. “Thanks for telling me about her.

“Oh well, it’s the least I could do, my dear sister,” said Rarity and kissed her forehead.

“So what happened to Mistmane?” asked Scootaloo.

“Well, no one knows,” said Rarity. “She did as I told you and set out to make the world beautiful, but once she arrived in Europe in the company of a mysterious wizard, she was never seen again. But I like to think she still wanders the world in the afterlife, spreading beauty as she did.”

“Why is everyone’s legend disappearing at the end?” asked Rainbow. “I mean what’s causing it.”

“Well, there are plenty of theories,” said Twilight. “Some say they came down with something even Meadowbrook couldn’t cure and passed, but there is another one. But it’s too impractical.”

“Why? What is it?” asked Starlight.

“Well, the rumor is that they met a great wizard in England; Starswirl the Bearded, better known as Merlin Ambrosius, court wizard of King Arthur who made them all immortal, and they all went into hiding long before humanity first went to war with each other,” said Twilight. “But it doesn’t make any sense. Why would this book contain entries written by at least three legends?” This peaked Rarity’s interest.

“At least three? But the only ones we’ve found were written by Rockfoot and Meadowbrook,” she said.

“Well, I translated the Chinese ones with my phone, and I found that they were written by none other than Mistmane,” said Twilight. Sunburst was surprised as he looked at the translation.

“She’s right,” he said. “This journal was written by the legends we grew up listening to.”

“This is just getting weird,” said Rainbow. “How is that possible?”

“And I gotta ask,” said Starlight turning to another page in the book. “Who wrote these passages in hieroglyphics?”

“Wait, lemme see!” said Pinkie, stretching her arms over to grab the book and scanning it for some sort of signature.

“You can read hieroglyphics?” asked Sunset, before she facepalmed. “Why am I asking? Of course, you can read hieroglyphics.”

“Well, I know what the symbols mean, I just can’t translate actual words from them,” said Pinkie. “But I think I found a signature.” Then she whipped a pad and pen out of her hair and started drawing the symbols. “Let’s see, folded cloth, lasso, owl, water, vulture, owl, foot, quail, lion, vulture. Let’s see… S-O-M-N-A-M-B-U-L-A.” Then she let out a huge gasp. “Girls, these hieroglyphic sections were written by Somnambula!” The others looked around at each other.

“Who?” asked Rainbow. Pinkie gave an angry scoff but just plopped down on her butt.

“Maybe it’d be better if I just told you the story,” she said, and the voices of the characters echoed once again as she told it.

**(Switch to story. Pinkie Pie narrating)**

Centuries ago in Egypt, the whole empire fell prey to an evil sphinx who demanded most of the citizens’ crops. At the time, Somnambula was a young woman with light violet eyes, a light scarlet tan and dark arctic blue hair. Like her fellow villagers, she didn’t have much, but she used what little she had to keep others from giving up hope, even giving up her pearl necklace to an old woman for her to buy food.

When the Pharaoh heard about it, his son Prince Hisan was so moved by her compassion and generosity that he decreed nobody in Egypt would go hungry ever again. But when he faced the Sphinx, the beast captured him and took to the skies.

“Hear me well, Pharaoh!” the monster bellowed. “If you wish to see your son alive again, you must simply answer my riddle.” And with that, the beast took off for the Great Pyramids of Giza. No one in the country would volunteer to save the prince. No one but Somnambula. She had always hoped her destiny would be for higher things, and saving the prince with the aid of her new Icarus-style wings she herself built was certainly on that list.

When she arrived in the largest of the pyramids, she saw the prince was lashed to a large crystal monolith in the middle of a large antechamber above a chasm of green slime connected to the edge with a rickety rope bridge, and when the sphinx laid eyes on her, she was unimpressed. “So you are the one the pharaoh sent?” she asked. “State your name.”

“I am Somnambula,” she said. “Give me the riddle, monster, I am not afraid.”

“Very well. Here it is,” said the Sphinx. “I shine brightest in the dark. I am there, but cannot be seen. To have me costs you nothing. To be without me costs you _everything_. What am I?” Somnambula thought long and hard about the hardships she and her people went through and instantly knew the answer.

“Hope!” she shouted up to the beast. The Sphinx was so enraged at her speedy answer that it seemed she might still refuse to release the prince.

“Okay wait,” said Somnambula. “I only ask for one more challenge. If I succeed, you must leave Egypt forever.”

“And if you fail?” asked the Sphinx. Somnambula gulped.

“If I should fail, the kingdom is yours to rule,” she said. The sphinx chuckled at this.

“Very well then,” she said. “All you must do then is walk to the prince across this chasm of poison.” Somnambula was worried she might not make it, so she tried to grab her wings, but they were gone. She looked and saw the sphinx holding them.

“Ah-ah-ah,” she said. “I said you must _walk_ to him. And I have one more detail.” Then a white scrap of fabric appeared on Somnambula’s face over her eyes.

“What? You wish me to do this blind?!” she asked. The sphinx laughed.

“Indeed. Good luck,” she said. “You’ll need it.” Somnambula was, of course, worried, but she never lost hope. She knew she had to take a leap of faith to reach the prince, and against all odds, she made it. The prince then started shouting to her, and following the sound of his voice, she slowly walked across the bridge to him intact.

The sphinx growled in anger as it tried to fly away, but a mysterious wizard stripped her of her wings and turned her to stone, dropping her where she is now.

When the two returned, the pharaoh was overjoyed to have his son back.

“Who are you who have saved my son?” he asked. Somnambula bowed.

“My name is Somnambula, my lord,” she said.

“How did you manage to prevail over that beast?” the Pharaoh asked.

“Simple really,” said Somnambula. “I have always hoped I could make things better for my people, and that hope must have carried me through.”

“Well, I must say, your neck looks rather boring now that you’ve surrendered your pearls,” said Hisan. “Here. Take this.” And then he handed her a necklace of rare green stones known only as glowpaz, a luminescent stone found only in specific areas of the empire, and around her neck, they shown bright enough to light all of Egypt.

**(Leave the story)**

“After that, Somnambula’s home village was named in her honor and the glowpaz stone became their symbol of hope,” said Pinkie. “She eventually met with the wizard who turned the sphinx to stone and left for Europe with him to spread hope. But after that, she vanished without a trace.”

“That wizard must’ve been Starswirl,” said Starlight. “So all the legends joined up with him and wandered the world. Why?”

“According to Starswirl’s legend, they did it to defend the earth from the threat of darkness,” said Twilight. “But there was one more member of this alliance they started. I think he was Roman.” That sparked an interested look in Rainbow’s eye.

“I think he might’ve been my favorite legend, the Roman Legionnaire Flash Magnus,” she said.

“Flash Magnus?” asked Scootaloo. “Wasn’t he that guy who fought the dragons?”

“Yep,” said Rainbow. “Time for my story. Long ago, before rail travel and flight were even thought of…”

**(Switch to Story. Rainbow Dash narrating)**

Flash Magnus; a young man with red hair and turquoise eyes, was a lowly cadet in the Roman Legion. And his six-man chapter had to ride through Germania to get to their comrades in Constantinople. But as they all knew, Germania was dragon territory and as they drew closer in, two of the fire-breathing beasts attacked head-on!

The men tried everything they could think of, but they couldn’t get past the dragons, so Flash’s commander Ironhead ordered a retreat. Unfortunately, Flash and two other cadets were separated from their unit. Flash managed to get away, but the dragons captured his friends and took them to their cave and Flash crashed into the rest of his unit.

“Commander Ironhead!” yelled Flash. “We have to go in there and rescue our captured comrades!”

“I appreciate your loyalty, Magnus, but getting past those dragons is going to be impossible,” said the commander. “We’ve tried everything.”

**(Leave the story)**

“The commander was right,” said Apple Bloom. “From what I’ve heard, you can’t outfight dragons.”

“No, but as Flash proved, you can outsmart them,” said Rainbow.

**(Back to the story)**

Flash watched the cave and planned a way in, glancing at his horse Fulgur Emissarius.

“Commander Ironhead,” he said. “I believe I can outride those dragons on Fulgur.” Then he saddled his horse and jumped onto his back. “If we can lure them into chasing us, the rest of you can sneak into their lair and retrieve the others before they return.”

“Are you truly willing to take that risk, soldier?” asked the commander.

“I am, sir,” said Flash and saluted.

“It’s a very brave thing you’re doing,” said Ironhead. “You’ll need all the help you can get. Here.” Then he handed Flash an arrow-head shaped shield made of pure bronze with the symbol of a phoenix on it. Flash marveled at it as he took it.

“Is this… Netitus, the fireproof shield of Achilles?” he asked.

“Aside from the great soldier himself, it has protected legionnaires for generations,” said Ironhead, slipping it onto his soldier’s arm. “And this day, I can think of any worthier man for Netitus to guard. Good luck, soldier.” Flash saluted and rode away.

“For Caesar!” he yelled and rode to the mouth of the dragons’ cave. Once there, he took a breath to steel his nerves and then drew his gladius. “Hey! Come and get me, fire-breath! Assuming you can keep up!” Then he banged his sword against his new shield. “Hey! Hey, come and get me! Hey, I’m right here!” One of the dragons blew fire at him, but he quickly blocked it with his shield. Then he rode like the wind away, luring the dragons out and allowing his fellows to rescue their other soldiers.

Amazingly, Flash’s horse was able to ride faster than the dragons, but he knew he couldn’t keep it up. His men knew it as well, so they prayed to Jupiter for help. Then out of nowhere, huge lightning bolts shot down from the heavens and struck the dragons, sending them falling to the ground. The legionnaires cheered at the soldier as he rode over to his commander and offered his shield, but the commander refused.

“Keep it,” he said. “Netitus deserves to ride with a brave soul such as yourself.” Flash jumped from his horse and bowed to the commander before they continued on to Constantinople.

**(Leave the story)**

“After a while of fighting with the Legion, a mysterious wizard, who was obviously Starswirl, approached Flash, who took him to fight with him in Europe,” said Rainbow. “After that, they left Rome and were never seen again.” Then the book started glowing in Twilight’s grasp and the pages flapped before they stopped on a large section of blank pages. Then more writing and illustrations appeared on the pages before the girls’ eyes started glowing white. Then out of nowhere, they suddenly appeared in Rome partially transparent.

“Whoa,” said Rainbow. “What just happened?”

“I think we were just sent through time,” said Sunset. “Look. We’re in Rome.” Then they heard a grindstone sliding against steel nearby. The girls looked and saw a young man in a legionnaire’s armor sharpening a gladius. Rainbow looked at the shield he had nearby and her face scrunched up in excitement.

“OMG! Guys, that’s Flash Magnus,” she said. Then the girls saw an average-sized man in a faded blue cloak with a long white beard and a large elaborate staff walking over to him.

“Are you the one they call Flash Magnus?” asked the old man in an English tongue as he stopped.

“Perhaps I am,” said Flash in a Latin accent. “Who wishes to know?”

“Who I am is unimportant at the moment,” said the old man. “What I can offer you is.”

“And what can you offer me that the Gods cannot?” asked Flash, lifting his sword to him.

“Adventure,” said the old man. “And a chance to save the world from the darkness that fast approaches. But be forewarned; the perils I seek are not for the faint of heart. Only a truly courageous warrior would have any hope of victory against the monsters I plan to face.” Flash smirked and kicked Netitus onto his arm.

“Then you’ve come to the right man, my lord,” he said. “I once faced off with two dragons at once to save my comrades.” The old man stroked his beard and smiled at him.

“Very well then,” said the old man and shook his hand. “You shall be the first recruit into my alliance.”

“First recruit? Of how many, might I ask?” asked Flash.

“The exact number remains to be seen, I’m afraid,” said the old man. “But I can tell you it will be much higher than just the two of us. But I’m afraid that to gather the rest, we must part ways. Meet me here in one week. There, you shall meet your fellows in arms.” He then handed Flash a map with an x on a specific part of England.

“Britannia?” asked Flash. “Very well. I shall see you there.”

“Trust me,” said the old man as he walked away. “You will.”

Then the girls were instantly sent to a large Celtic village under a large volcano where they saw Rockfoot standing over the docks as a group of European wanderers came in on a ship. Among them was the same old man that had talked to Flash.

“And your purpose here, sir?” Rockfoot asked in a Norse accent.

“Recruitment,” said the old man. “I’m looking for the strongest of men to join my alliance.” Another soldier of the Mighty Helm laughed.

“Then you’ve found him, old man,” he said. “Rockfoot here is the strongest man in the village.”

“Are you now?” asked the old man. “Well then, how would you like to work to defend more than just your own village, but the world itself as well, and from the forces of evil and darkness?”

“Protect the earth in the stead of the Gods?” pondered Rockfoot. “Agreed.”

“Excellent,” said the old man, handing him a similar map. “Meet me here in one week. We’ll be waiting.” Then the vision warped out to Egypt where Somnambula was wondering the city streets with the people waving at her every time she passed them. She still had her blindfold tied around her neck, and she had been appointed Hisan’s consultant. Then she saw the old man from the last two stops.

“Good day to you, sir,” she said. “Has Ra not blessed us with a lovely afternoon in our desert?”

“Indeed, though I’m afraid I have not come for simple chit-chat,” said the old man. “I have come to find one most inspirational, to help spread hope in the darkest of times.”

“Then look no further,” said a street vendor nearby. “You have had the good fortune to meet with the great Somnambula who-”

“Defeated the great sphinx,” said the old man. “Yes, I am aware.”

“Are you? How?” asked Somnambula.

“Who do you think turned him to stone?” asked the old man as his staff started glowing.

“You are a magician,” said Somnambula.

“Wizard, actually,” said the man. “Greatest in all of Britain. So then, Madam Somnambula, what say thee? Will you join me and spread hope and light in the darkness?” He then offered her his hand.

“I accept,” said Somnambula and accepted his hand.

“Excellent,” he said, handing her a map as well. “Meet me here in one week. Your fellows and I will be waiting.” Then the girls were warped to far eastern Europe to see Mistmane wondering the streets of a small town, a trail of flowers following her. Then she saw the old man nearby.

“Are you the one known as Mistmane?” he asked her.

“Indeed I am,” she said in a lessened Chinese accent. “How may I help you?” The man raised an eyebrow under his cloak’s hood.

“Forgive me, but the stories I’ve heard about you make you out to be a beautiful maiden,” he said.

“It makes sense,” said Mistmane. “Back in China, I was the most beautiful of women, but beauty isn’t everything. Only something that can make people smile. Speaking of which…” Then she used her magic to revitalize the color in his cloak, making more evident the star and moon patches all over it.

“My, my. Thank you, my dear,” he said. “Say, would you be interested in using your powers for more benefit than simply spreading smiles with flowers?”

“What did you have in mind?” Mistmane asked, stroking the Dragon Lily in her dress.

“I’m assembling an alliance of people from around the world who exemplify certain traits,” said the old man. “And from what I’ve heard, your power to spread beauty and happiness would make you perfect for it.”

“Very well then,” said Mistmane and bowed. “I accept.”

“Good,” said the man, handing her a map. “Meet me here in one week.” Then the girls warped out to Hayseed Swamp to see the old man walking slower than usual. Then Mage Meadowbrook walked over to him, mask on her brow.

“Can I help you, friend?” she asked in her usual Cajun accent.

“Yes, please,” he said. “I fear I’m coming down with something.” Meadowbrook decided to be cautious, so she pulled down her mask and put her ear to his chest to listen to his heart.

“Don’t sound too outta sync to me,” she said, lifting her mask back up. “You sound fine.”

“Of course I’m fine,” said the man, standing all the way up. “That was a test. But what if I were ill?”

“Then I would’ve healed ya, simple as that,” said Meadowbrook.

“Good. I need a good healer,” said the man, picking up a vial of flash-bee honey from nearby. “I’ve heard you’re the best in the world. Is it true?”

“Well, I found out that that honey you got there is the cure to Swamp Fever,” said Meadowbrook. “So I’d say so.”

“Well then, here’s my pitch,” said the man putting down the vial. “I’m assembling a group of the greatest warriors, magicians, and healers in the world to protect it, and I believe that you, Mystical Mask, would be perfect for it. Interested?” Meadowbrook smiled.

“Well, Ma always did say I’d be healin’ the world long after she passed,” she said. “I’m in.” And she grabbed his hand.

“Excellent,” said the man, handing her another map. “Meet me here in one week. We’ll be waiting for you.” Then the girls were warped inside a large castle near a table to see the legends walk in several different doors.

“What is going on here?” asked Applejack.

“I believe we’re witnessing the alliance of history being founded,” said Rarity. The legends all sat down at the table and looked around.

“I don’t understand,” said Rockfoot. “That old man must’ve brought us together. Where is he?”

“I’m afraid Lord Ambrosius will be a bit late,” said a voice. The legends looked to a shadowy corner and saw a young man in brown robes with brilliant azure eyes, and cerulean hair.

“And who are you?” asked Flash.

“My name is Stygian,” said the boy. “You’ll have to forgive Lord Ambrosius, he’s always late.”

“Well, as long as we’re waiting, what say we try to get to know one another?” suggested Mistmane.

“No need,” said a familiar voice. They all looked to one door and saw the old man. “I’ll handle all that.”

“Welcome home, my lord,” said Stygian, taking his staff. “I hope King Arthur was not too much trouble today.”

“Not at all,” said the old man as he sat down. “He’s actually just given me permission to form this alliance. Now then, I shall introduce everyone around the room. This is Rockfoot, Flash Magnus, Mage Meadowbrook, Mistmane and Somnambula. And I take it you’ve already met Stygian.”

“Indeed,” said Flash. “Yet we know not who has brought us together. Who are you, conjurer?” The old man pulled back his hood and looked down the table with his deep gray eyes.

“My name is Merlin Ambrosius, magic counsel of King Arthur Pendragon of Britannia,” he said. “But you may address me as Starswirl the Bearded.” Then the girls were warped back to real life amazed.

“Okay, something weird is going on here,” said Sunset.

“Agreed,” said Twilight. “And I think we need to find out what, ASAP."


	11. Baby Emergency

It had been a stressful few weeks for Cadence, as it felt as though she was about to go into labor at any minute. She and Shining Armor lived in a small house near the coast at Kirk Ronan, so they had a wonderful view of the sea. Twilight always loved coming over to visit as Shining Armor had been a collector of model engines since he was a boy, and had a full-fledged model railway in the basement, which the two loved to play with.

One day, Oliver the Great Western 14xx tank engine was waiting at the station for work when Gordon left, leaving Twilight, Flash and the girls on the platform to see the two future parents waiting on the platform.

“Hey guys,” said Twilight as she hugged them. “Good to see you both. I feel like we haven’t spent any time together since we moved back.”

“Cadence, what are you doing out of bed?” asked Sunset. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Honestly Sunset, your concern is heartwarming, but I’m fine, really,” said Cadence. “I just need a little fresh air, so we were planning to head up to Lakeside in the mountains.”

“Excellent plan, Ms. Cadence,” said Toad, Oliver’s GWR Toad brakevan. “I hear it’s excellent up there this time of year.”

“Y’know, I don’t think we’ve been up there in ages,” said Applejack. “Why not make a day of it?”

“Excellent idea, Applejack,” said Rarity. But when she looked around the platform, she saw there were no passenger trains to be seen. “Oh. But how will we get there?”

“I can take you if you’d like,” said Oliver. “I don’t have any work right now, and I’m not due back on the Little Western for another few days. Controller’s orders.”

“But Mr. Oliver, what about our train?” asked Toad.

“Oh bunkers, Toad, you’re right,” realized Oliver. “We have a goods train in an hour.”

“Dinna fash yerself, Oliver,” said a thick Scottish voice. Everyone looked across the platform to see a large black CR Class 812 tender engine with a number ten on his tender resting nearby. His name was Douglas. “Donal n’ I can take yer train for ya. We’ve got no work ourselves. You lot go on and have yerselves a fine day.” Oliver smiled.

“Cheers, Douglas,” he said. “I can always count on you.” Then he whistled over to the sidings. “Oi, Stafford! Do you mind fetching Isabel and Dulcie out of the sheds for me?”

“Right away, Oliver,” said Stafford. Soon enough, Oliver had two chocolate brown Great Western Isobel Auto Coaches coupled between him and Toad.

“Now remember to fuel up, Oliver,” said Douglas. “Last thing ye’d want to have happen is to run out of coal and water halfway up the mountain.”

“Don’t worry Douglas, I’ll be fine,” said Oliver. “I have plenty of coal and water. This trip will be easy.” Soon enough, Oliver had gotten clearance to leave from the stationmaster and once everyone was on board, Oliver steamed out of the station. Soon enough, the engine pulled into the transfer station at Crovan’s Gate and was met by the narrow gauge railway’s number 1 and namesake; a scarlet Fletcher Jennings Class C engine named Skarloey with his own coach Agnes and guard’s van Beatrice.

“Wow,” said Pinkie. “Our own train? Thanks Skarloey.” The old engine gave a kind, low chuckle.

“Well, when Mr. Percival heard you were coming up, he figured I should give you a good ride,” he said in his usual Welsh accent. “Now then, all aboard!” Soon enough, they were all aboard and Skarloey steamed away. Later, they had arrived at Lakeside and had set up a sort of picnic area near the water. Flash and Twilight were off near the trees, watching her brother and sister-in-law mess around.

At one point, Flash turned to Twilight. “You think we’ll ever be like that?” he asked. Twilight blushed a bit.

“L-Like what?” she asked, blushing.

“Y’know. Married, kid on the way,” said Flash. “Think it’ll happen?”

“Well, I don’t know,” said Twilight, playing with her hair. “Maybe? We’ll see, I guess.”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight,” said Flash. “If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Either way, I’d like to meet your kid someday.” Twilight blushed and kissed him.

“Me too,” she said. Back with the others, Rainbow was feeling Cadence’s stomach.

“Whoo. Man, she’s really kicking hard, isn’t she?” she asked.

“Yeah, I just hope she isn’t trying out for Sodor United’s football team,” joked Cadence and everyone shared a laugh.

“So, have you picked out a name yet?” asked Fluttershy. Armor scratched the back of his head.

“We’re still working on that, actually,” he said. Then out of nowhere, Cadence’s face turned bright pink and she gasped before grabbing her groin.

“Oh no,” she said. “Not now.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight as she and Flash made it back over.

“The baby’s coming,” she said. At hearing that, they knew they needed to hurry.

“Oh boy, this isn’t good,” said Sunset. “We have to get her to a hospital.”

“Wait a sec,” said Rainbow. “Fluttershy, you did this sort for that wolf mother a few years ago, can’t you do that here?”

“This isn’t the same as a clutch of wolf pups, Rainbow,” said Fluttershy. “This is a real human baby. This is better left for the professionals.” Cadence’s breathing was getting more erratic as she clutched her stomach.

“Hang on, Cadence,” said Armor. “We’ll get you help.”

“What seems to be the problem?” asked Skarloey from the platform.

“Skarloey, we’ve got a huge problem,” said Rainbow. “Cadence just went into labor.”

“Oh, that is a problem,” said Skarloey. “The nearest hospital equipped for that is near Wellsworth Station, and that’s hours away by the road, even in an emergency vehicle.”

“Can we get Harold to give us a ride?” asked Flash.

“No, the trees are too thick for him to land, and he isn’t equipped for water landings,” said Twilight. “We’ll need to get her there by rail.”

“Right,” said Skarloey. “We can get you as far as Crovan’s Gate, but from there, Oliver will have to take you.”

“That’s all we need,” said Applejack as she and Armor helped her to the train. “Now let’s get going.” Rarity and Pinkie quickly packed up and boarded with the others. Skarloey thundered through the hills before he screeched into the transfer station, blaring his whistle.

“Oliver! Oliver!” he yelled to the sidings.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Skarloey?” asked Toad. The others piled out of Agnes and ran to the standard gauge platform. At this point, Cadence was screaming from the pain of her daughter trying to squeeze out.

“We need a ride to Wellsworth, Oliver,” said Armor. “My wife is about to have her baby.” Oliver and Toad were shocked.

“We’ll get you there as quickly as we can,” said Oliver. “Charlie’s just shunted Isabel and Dulcie away, but Toad should have enough room for you.”

“Good,” said Armor as everyone crammed onboard the old brakevan. “Anthony, radio the hospital at Wellsworth. Tell them to send an ambulance to the station as quickly as possible.”

“Right away, Sterling,” said the guard, with whom Armor was close friends. Quickly, the arrangements were made, the lines were cleared, and Oliver roared off as fast as his wheels could carry him.

Oliver’s fireman shoveled for dear life until he hit a rather large problem. “We’re out of coal!” he yelled. “We’ll be losing steam pressure soon!” And he was right. In no time, Oliver was starting to slow down. Cadence was screaming at the top of her lungs from the pain, but thankfully, Twilight saw an engine on a siding nearby; Gordon.

“Gordon, help!” yelled Twilight. Oliver whistled loudly at the big engine and he quickly steamed over to help.

“What seems to be the trouble, Oliver?” he asked.

“I’m carrying a pregnant woman, Gordon,” said Oliver. “And she’s about to give birth, but I’ve run out of coal. We just need to get to Wellsworth, can you help us?” Gordon smiled at the little engine.

“Right away, Oliver,” he said. “Couple me up, and I’ll give you a tow.”

“While we’re moving?” asked Oliver’s driver. “That’s daft.”

“Just as daft as I am,” smirked Rainbow as she slipped around to Oliver’s front with a shunter’s pole. Gordon quickly ran ahead and switched in front of Oliver before they touched buffers, allowing Rainbow to couple the two together. Quickly, she slipped back to Toad just in time for Cadence to grab Armor’s hand with enough force to nearly break his hand.

“Okay, go!” said Oliver. Gordon whistled and opened the throttle all the way.

“Out of my way!” he bellowed. “Express coming through!” The cavalcade thundered through the countryside, and at last, they arrived at Wellsworth Station. Twilight and the others quickly jumped out of Toad and ran out of the platform to the large ambulance that was waiting nearby.

“Quickly, all aboard!” said the driver and everyone quickly boarded, before being quickly rushed to the hospital’s maternity ward. Once there, Cadence spent two agonizing hours screaming in pain. While it was happening, Flash and Twilight grimaced at each other.

“On second thought, let’s just leave the family for the future,” said Flash.

“Agreed,” said Twilight. At last, Doctor Horse walked out of the room, looking exhausted.

“We’re done,” he said, patting Armor on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Mr. Sparkle. You’re a father.”

“Thanks, Doc,” said Armor, standing up and shaking his hand. “Can we go in and see her?”

“Of course, but don’t crowd her,” said Dr. Horse. “She’s still a bit woozy.” The group carefully filed in and saw Cadence lying on her bed with her newborn daughter in her arms. Her light head of hair was a gradient of light cerise to grayish violet with a few arctic blue streaks in it. Armor sat down next to Cadence and looked down at his new daughter’s bright blue eyes.

“She’s perfect,” he said, small tears coming to his eyes.

“She really is, isn’t she?” asked Cadence.

“So what are you gonna name her?” asked Pinkie.

“Good question,” said Cadence. “It has to be something unique. It has to mean something.” Sunset started crying for a second, but rubbed it away.

“Y’know, we’ve had a seriously insane few weeks since you guys got back,” she said. “I was kind of lost for a second there, but you’ve made me, well, hopeful again.” At that moment, Cadence and Armor looked at each other and smiled.

“That’s perfect,” said Armor. “Hope Sparkle.”

“I love it,” said Cadence. “And you, dear.” She pulled her new daughter up to her and kissed her on the forehead.

“She’s probably going to need some sort of nickname to fit in around the island,” said Rainbow.

“I was thinking about that on the ride over here,” said Rarity. “It was a bit of a flurry of a journey, but I have to say this whole thing has touched my heart. So why not… Flurry Heart?”

“That’s beautiful,” said Armor. “Thanks, Rarity.” A few days later, the large group and new family were at Knapford with Sir Topham Hatt, Gordon, and Oliver.

“Gordon, Oliver, I honestly can’t find the words perfect enough to thank you for helping us,” said Cadence.

“No need for anything major, Cadence,” said Gordon.

“Agreed. Just ‘thank you’ will do,” said Oliver.

“Well, I must say to the both of you that you are really useful engines,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “Now more than ever.”

“Thank you, sir,” said the two. Twilight looked around at her friends, and then at her new niece and knew that the future, though unknown, was looking bright.


	12. Atlantic Newcomer

The engines of the Sodor railway had been in high spirits since Flurry Heart was born, and rightly so, as she was seen often in Cadence’s arms as they kept an eye on Armor in the yards. Gordon especially was feeling more vain than usual as he worked. Rainbow noticed this as they ran one day, and saw he was barely paying attention while pulling the express, which led to the accident.

“Gordon, look out! Runaway!” she yelled. Gordon managed to see the loose trucks, but he didn’t stop fast enough and was thrown from the track into a thicket. Luckily, no one on board was hurt, but Gordon’s piston was broken, and he had to be taken into the Steamworks. At Tidmouth that evening, Rainbow told everyone what happened.

“Honestly, after all the accidents he’s had, you’d think Gordon would understand the concept of common sense,” said Rarity.

“Well, no offense to her, Twilight, but I think Flurry’s to blame,” said Rainbow.

“How do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“Think about it,” said Rainbow. “Gordon’s the one who helped Oliver and we all know how much he loves praise. He must’ve been over the moon when he and Oliver were thanked for that.”

“Speaking of which,” said a familiar voice. The girls looked and saw the Great Western Pannier tank engine Duck roll in. His real name was Montague, but he preferred his nickname really. “Oliver’s actually been humbler about all that. I think Gordon could stand to learn something from him.”

“Too right, Duck,” said Sir Topham Hatt as he jumped down from the engine’s cab. “And hopefully, his replacement will understand that as well.”

“Replacement, sir?” asked Thomas.

“Only for while Gordon is in the works, Thomas,” said the controller.

“How long will that be?” asked Sunset.

“Only another few weeks,” he replied.

“But the damage wasn’t that bad,” said Rainbow. “I saw it.”

“Indeed,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “The men have already repaired that damage, but they’re busy working on maintenance. Nothing serious, merely the hallmarks of wear and tear from running so fast so often. Which is why I’ve rented a ringer.”

“Heh. Well, no offense sir, but if you hired Spencer, I wouldn’t hold my breath for any humility,” said Applejack.

“Well then, I suppose it’s good I didn’t,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “I’ve ordered a new engine from the GNR on the Mainland.”

“What’s their name, sir?” asked Twilight.

“Her name is Alice,” he said. “Judging from what her manager said, she’s quite hard-working and almost exactly the engine I’d like on my railway.” Then Pinkie shivered a bit and rubbed her neck.

“You okay, Pinkie?” asked Sunset.

“Fine,” said Pinkie. “It’s just my neck-hairs wiggling.”

“Does that mean something?” asked Percy.

“It certainly does, my little green friend,” said Pinkie. “It means we’re going to get a new engine!” Sir Topham Hatt laughed.

“You’d be right, Ms. Pie,” he said. “Alice doesn’t know this yet, but I’ve struck a deal with her manager, and if she does well here, I’ve agreed to let her join the North-Western fleet.”

“That’s great, sir,” said Sunset. “When’s she due in?”

“Tomorrow morning, right at the usual express time,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “And I expect all engines to be on their best behavior. If Alice doesn’t like the railway, she won’t want to stay. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” said the engines. And with that, Sir Topham Hatt and Duck left and let everyone get some sleep. The next morning at Knapford Station, the girls and a few of the engines were working, waiting for Alice to arrive. Twilight had also brought her adopted little brother, Spike; a young boy with green hair and eyes and wearing a purple jacket and pants over a pale green t-shirt. The weird thing was that he had a huge crush on Rarity, even though there was a pretty huge age difference.

“Look Edward, I’m telling you, that new Tomb Raider movie is gonna be awesome,” said Twilight as she coupled up cars in the yard.

“Obviously,” said Spike. “I mean, Alicia Vikander? That’s just gonna be awesome.”

“I suppose,” said Edward. “But I honestly prefer the old days. Y’know, Audrey Hepburn and all that.”

“Ugh. Jeez, you sound like my mom,” said Rainbow. Then they heard a loud whistle down the main line. “Who’s that?”

“Not sure,” said Twilight. Then into the station rolled a GNR C1 Atlantic tender engine. She was painted bright green with the letters GNR on her tender and the number 288 on her cab. She had a very smart face with a few freckles and looked very nice.

“Good day, gentlemen,” she said kindly. “My name is Alice, and I’m your temporary express engine.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice,” said Thomas. “Welcome to the Island of Sodor. I’m Thomas, and this is Edward and Percy.”

“Good day,” said Edward.

“Hello,” said Percy.

“A pleasure,” said Alice, then she saw the girls. “And who are these?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight. “These are my friends.”

“I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

“Rarity Belle.”

“Name’s Applejack, partner.”

“Uh, Fluttershy.”

“I’m Spike.”

“Hiya! I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“And I’m Rainbow Dash,” the runner said. “I’ll be riding with you while you’re here.”

“Pardon?” asked Alice.

“We have a sort of a ‘buddy-system’ thing on this railway,” explained Edward. “Most of the engines usually ride along with one of the girls or one of their other friends.”

“Ah, I see,” said Alice. “Well, in any case, it’s wonderful to meet you. I look forward to working with you. I also must apologize for being a bit late.”

“Late?” asked Thomas. Applejack checked her pocket watch.

“Ya ain’t late,” she said. “We weren’t expecting ya in for another ten minutes.”

“Am I?” she asked, looking at the station clock. She blushed when she saw that in fact, she was early. “Oh. I’m sorry, it’s a habit I picked up in London.”

“What habit?” asked Percy.

“My manager has a saying he tells us engines,” said Alice. “‘If you’re not early, you’re late’.”

“Well, I’d say it’s good yer early then,” said Applejack.

“Though I must say, Sir Topham Hatt is also a bit of a stickler for the timetable,” said Edward. “Not to offend him or anything.”

“Speaking of which, Percy and Edward were just about to leave, and I’ve got back-to-back shunting to do for the others before I can get your coaches ready,” said Thomas.

“No need,” said Alice. “I can fetch my own coaches.” Everyone stopped and looked, surprised and a record scratch was heard nearby. Everyone looked and saw the DJ from their class at Canterlot High, Vinyl Scratch; a girl with two-toned blue hair and moderate cerise eyes which are almost always by a pair of thick purple sunglasses, and wearing a yellowish-white jacket and pants, blue sneakers along with a large pair of blue headphones, holding a miniature turntable. She took her headphones and shades off and looked at them.

“What?” she asked. “So I have good timing. Sue me.” Then she put her shades and headphones back and walked off.

“What was that all about?” asked Alice.

“Well, this is Sodor,” said Sunset. “Hope you’re interested in random craziness.”

“I’d say she is,” said Edward. “Forgive me for that, but we’re just not used to express engines fetching their own coaches unless they absolutely have to.” Alice gave a weary sigh.

“I know what you mean,” she said. “My fellows in London treat the shunters like slaves. It’s disgraceful, really. Whereas I’m not afraid to pull my own weight.”

“Alice?” said Rainbow.

“Yes?” asked Alice.

“You just made my good list,” she continued. Alice giggled.

“Splendid,” she said. “So… where can I get turned around and get some coaches?”

“I can show you if you like,” said Rainbow. “It’ll get you used to the ride-along system we’ve got going.”

“Marvelous,” said Alice as Rainbow climbed aboard. “Well, I’d best be off. Once again, it was wonderful meeting all of you.” And with that, Alice steamed away.

“She’s really nice,” said Percy.

“Too right,” said Thomas, raising an eyebrow. “Not bad to look at, either.”

“Careful there, Thomas,” said Twilight. “Wouldn’t want Rosie hearing that.” Everyone laughed at that, but Thomas didn’t find it all that funny.

Out on the line, Rainbow and Alice were rumbling down the line toward the Ballahoo shunting yard, and Alice was quietly singing to herself.

“What’s that?” asked Rainbow.

“Hmm? Oh sorry, it’s a bit of a habit,” said Alice. “I always sing while I work.”

“I think that might be another thing I like about you,” said Rainbow.

“Really?” asked Alice. “Everyone back home seems annoyed by it.”

“Well, this isn’t the GNR,” said Rainbow matter-of-factly. “Besides, I’ve kinda got my own band going with the others. Heck, maybe I could show you some of our songs while we work together.” Then she looked up ahead. “Alright there’s the yard, turntable should be off to the right somewhere.” Then as Alice pulled into the yard for her coaches after being turned around, the coaches moved before she could buffer them.

“What the-?” she asked and tried again, but the same thing happened. Then Rainbow saw a pair of familiar Bagnall 0-4-0ST tank engines.

“Bill and Ben again,” she said shaking her head. “Hey! Knock it off back there, or I won’t have BoCo bring you any empties tonight!” After that, the silly twins steamed away laughing. “You’ll have to excuse them. They’re always playing tricks on engines, even though Sir Topham Hatt ordered everyone to be on their best behavior.”

“I understand,” said Alice as she was coupled up. “There are more than a few engines like that back home.” Over the next few weeks, Alice made a lasting impression on the railway. Aside from the express, she also helped with freight services, shunting and really any job that needed doing. Regardless of whatever work she did, Alice did with a smile on her face, a song in her heart and on her lips, utter professionalism, and of course, without complaint. Even Gordon approved of her work when she brought him back from the works, and he was usually very touchy about who touched his express. Rainbow was riding along with her for a while longer to get to know her better, and Sir Topham Hatt was just about ready to write up his very positive report on her, but then Alice was called to the Little Western line to collect a load of ballast for track repair at Tidmouth. In the yard, she and Rainbow had just finished shunting trucks for the train when Duck rolled up.

“Now watch yourself there, Alice,” he said. “Those trucks aren’t above causing accidents to get their way with engines.”

“Don’t worry Duck,” said Alice as Rainbow coupled her up to the train. “We’ll be fine.” and with that, the train pulled out of the yard to the small railway. Unfortunately, the truck at the very front of the train was Scruffy, a seven-plank open wagon from a private company whom Oliver ripped in half once. Since then, he’s wanted nothing but payback.

“She’s a new engine, boys,” he whispered to the trucks. “Once we’re loaded and nearly at Tidmouth, push her off.” The trucks started giggling, but Alice got confused.

“It’s not a good sign when the trucks start laughing like that, is it?” she asked.

“No, it is not,” said Rainbow. “They must be planning something. Watch your back.” They almost managed to make it all the way to the repair site when Scruffy yelled something.

“Now!” he cried and all the trucks bumped forward hard, making Alice skid forward hard.

“Whoa!” she yelled, and quickly put on her brakes, but it didn’t help. “Fizzling fireboxes! What’s going on?”

“It’s the trucks! If we don’t stop fast, we’re going to crash!” yelled Rainbow. Then she saw Gordon’s express parked at a platform ahead. “Especially at this rate!” Alice just grinned.

“Not to worry,” she said. “I know a little trick for times like this. Uncouple me from the train.”

“What?” asked Rainbow.

“Then we let them run through the station on another line and stop themselves,” explained Alice.

“That’s insane!” said Rainbow. “I love it.” She quickly radioed the plan to the guard and grabbed the shunter’s pole in the cab and jumped out onto her tender, unhooking Scruffy from behind her and the train rolled away. Then Rainbow radioed the plan to the signalman in the tower nearby, and he quickly switched Alice onto the track to the left and the train to the next track over. Then Alice slowly slid to a stop next to Gordon and let her train roll through the station into a work-shed siding nearby, slamming into the buffers, knocking the trucks silly. Gordon was surprised.

“What happened?” he asked. Rainbow quickly explained, and Gordon was, to put it bluntly, gobsmacked. “Bust my boiler. I’ve never heard of an engine doing anything like that.”

“Nor have I,” said Sir Topham Hatt as he walked around with Cadence, Armor, Twilight, and Flurry to look at Alice. “Who did you learn that from, Alice?”

“No offense, sir, but it’s more a matter of who learned it from me,” Alice said proudly.

“Wait, you mean you came up with that move yourself?” asked Cadence.

“Certainly,” said Alice. “Just because I’m a lady doesn’t mean I don’t know how to play dirty.” Sir Topham Hatt smiled at the old engine as he ran his hand over his head and replaced his top hat.

“Well, I could certainly use an engine with your improvisational skills in my fleet,” he said.

“Well, thank you sir, but with Gordon here, I feel this was my last job on your railway before I go home,” said Alice growing sad. Armor smirked at the controller.

“Do you want to show her or should I?” he asked.

“Oh please, be my guest, Sterling,” he said, handing a small tablet to him. Armor walked out in front of Alice and turned it on, revealing a Skype call with a young man in a smart suit.

“Hello Alice,” he said.

“Mr. Michaels?” she asked. “Uh, not to worry sir, I’m on my way home now.”

“Don’t bother,” said Mr. Michaels. “You’re already home.” Alice was confused.

“I’m sorry, sir?” she asked.

“Care to tell her, Richard?” asked Mr. Michaels.

“Indeed, Jonathon,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “You see, Alice, your now-former controller told me that you’d been feeling a bit like the odd-one-out with more and more diesels on your line, so he and I had set a deal that this temporary replacement run of yours was also a trial run to see if you would do well on my railway. And if you did well on that run, Jonathon here has agreed to sell you to me at a bargain price. And I’m pleased to say you did extremely well.

“Wait, you mean-?” asked Alice. Rainbow smiled as she walked out and sat down on her running plate.

“He means, welcome to the Steam Team, Alice,” she said. Alice was so happy, she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just let out a long happy whistle.

“I won’t let you down, Mr. Michaels,” she said.

“I know you won’t, old girl,” he said. “Well, I’d say that’s all for me. Goodbye, Alice.”

“Goodbye, sir,” she said just before Armor hung up and handed the tablet back to Sir Topham Hatt.

“Well, I’d say that’s all I have for you now, Alice,” said the controller. “Back to work.”

“Yes sir,” said Alice and she picked up the trucks, proud to now be a Sudrian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice, as well as a few other characters I'm planning on introducing, are original characters of WildNorWester of YouTube.


	13. Godred's Day

If you were to ask anyone on Sodor (doesn’t matter who) what the biggest celebration on the island was, they would almost instantly answer “Why, Godred’s Day, of course”. The island’s holiday of August 31st was practically sacred to the people of the Island of Sodor, as it serves as a commemoration to King Godred MacHarold, a younger son of Harald Sigtryggsson, Danish King of Limerick from the early tenth century. The festivities themselves begin a short time before the actual holiday with a full week of festivities all over the island, peaking on the day itself, as a grand rail-parade is carried out by the island’s first crew of engines; lovingly nicknamed the Steam Team, ending at Godred’s old home of Ulfstead Castle with a grand gala amidst an awe-inspiring fireworks display.

Though it might be prudent of me to mention that throughout this time of festivities, the island’s native tongue of Sudric, a variation of King Godred’s Goidelic languages, particularly Manx, is more widely spoken across the island, and even though most folk on the island can speak it, they have no quarrels with teasing those who aren’t, and the engines are no exception, as was evidenced by Gordon and Rainbow as Alice pulled into Knapford with a goods train the first morning of the festivities.

“Moghrey vie, Alice,” said Gordon kindly. “Treishtin t'ou greesit mychione Laa yn Godred?” (Translation: “Good morning, Alice. I trust you are excited about Godred’s Day?”)

“Shione mish,” said Rainbow, excited. “Nagh nod fuirraght rish ny aile obbreghyn.” (Translation: “I know I am. I can’t wait for the fireworks.”)

“You know,” said Alice, surprisingly irritated. “I’m all in favor of remembering one’s roots and all that, but sometimes it can just come across as rude.”

“Sorry, Alice,” said Rainbow, as she and her partner slipped back to English. “I guess you’re right.”

“I too must apologize,” said Gordon as Rainbow boarded him. “I’ve always felt like running myself back into that ditch at the Knapford roundhouse when I forget that one rule; only use Sudric when appropriate.” Just then, Gordon’s streamlined cousin, Spencer; a shining silver LNER A4, rolled into the station with his private passengers, the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, in their usual red bogie coach.

“Hello, Sodor!” he said proudly. Gordon and Rainbow smirked at each other.

“Moghrey vie, Spencer!” they both said. (Translation: “Good morning, Spencer!”)

“Oh, har-dee-har,” said Spencer. “Very funny, cousin.”

“Yah, er jeeym cho,” said Rainbow. (“Hey, I think so.”)

“Oo feagh ny jean toiggal Sudric, nee oo cussan?” asked Gordon. (“You still don’t understand Sudric, do you cousin?”)

“I thought you said only use Sudric when appropriate?” asked Alice.

“We did,” said Rainbow. “But how is this not appropriate?” Alice thought it over for a minute.

“Mm. Okay, that’s fair,” she said.

“Well then, while you’re doing that, I’ll be taking the Duke and Duchess to their summer house for the festivities,” said Spencer.

“Speaking of which, Spencer,” said the Duke as he and his wife boarded the coach again. “We’ve finished lunch, so let’s get going.”

“Right away, your grace,” said Spencer as the doors closed and the guard’s whistle blew. Spencer let out one loud blast of his whistle and he started off, but not before looking back at Gordon and Rainbow with a smirk. “As cair rish ny recortey, aym Sudric er feddynit share.” (“And just for the record, my Sudric has gotten better.”) Then he rocketed off, leaving a very confused express team behind.

“Okay…” said Rainbow. “That happened.”

“Yes,” said Gordon. “It most certainly did.”

“I still feel like the odd one out here,” said Alice. “When I joined the fleet, I didn’t realize that would mean learning a new language.”

“Trust me, my dear,” said Gordon. “I had the same experience when I first came to Sodor from Doncaster. If you’d like some lessons in Sudric, I’d be more than happy to provide them.”

“Oh. Why thank you Gordon,” said Alice just before her guard blew his whistle. “But if you’ll excuse me, that’s my cue to go. Cheers!” And she steamed off. The week went by splendidly well, festivities skyrocketing to near peak by the time August 30th came along. On that day, Thomas and Percy were sent up to the Crosby Coaling Plant to collect a train to refill the depot at Knapford. Logan, the plant’s S&DJR Sentinel shunter, had just marshaling their train when the two arrived.

“I’m so excited,” said Percy. “Godred’s Day’s tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait to see those fireworks,” said Pinkie.

“It’s sure something to look forward to,” said Thomas. “Annie and Clarabel are over the moon.”

“Part of that must be the new coat of paint I gave them yesterday,” said Twilight. “They said they wanted to look their best for the parade tomorrow.” Then she noticed Logan seemingly sulking in the back of the yard. “You okay, Logan?”

“Fine, Twilight,” he said, getting back to shunting. “It’s just- Well, I wish I could _watch_ the parade.”

“I thought the plant was closing early tomorrow,” said Pinkie.

“It is, but not early enough,” said Logan biffing a few trucks into place. “Sure, I’ve only been here a few years, but everyone’s always talking about how good you look in that parade. It’d be great to see just a bit of that.”

“Whoa,” said Pinkie. “Talk about a paradigm shift. What happened to the rough-n-tumble shunter we all know?”

“I dunno,” said Logan as the brakevan was coupled on behind the train. “But I guess that’s life, eh? Suppose I shouldn’t complain about it. Not when I can see the fireworks.”

“Great,” said Thomas. “If you want, we can save you a spot at Ulfstead.”

“That’d be lovely, mate,” said Logan. “Well, you’re all set back here. Off you go.”

“Thanks, Logan,” said Twilight as the train rumbled off. “Happy Godred’s Day.” Once they left, Logan ran backward and forwards around the yard, shunting trains to top off every other coal depot on Sodor. All day, coal trains rattled out of Crosby for delivery to every corner of Sodor. All went well until it was time for the last shipment to be taken to Barrow-in-Furness on the mainland.

Duck was supposed to take that train, but he had burst a valve not far from Knapford. With no one else available, Logan volunteered to take it himself. Thankfully, the trucks would be kept in check by an ICI hopper truck named Hector, whom Logan had shunted to the front.

“Ready to go, Hector?” he asked.

“Ready and waiting, Logan,” said the truck. “Let’s go.” And the train rumbled out of the yard. By the time they did, it was already dark, and by the time the train reached Carldyn, a thick fog bank had rolled in from Misty Island, limiting Logan’s field of vision. This made him very cross as he had to slow down to avoid an accident. Nevertheless, he was making good time, but the fog was so thick, he didn’t see a fallen tree branch on the line until it was too late. His wheels hit it and he jumped the track, pulling Hector off as well, blocking both tracks.

“Oh botheration!” said Logan.

“You alright, Logan?” asked Hector.

“Fine,” he said. “You?”

“A bit wobbly, but I’ll be fine- whoa!” said the large truck just before he toppled over on his side and his load of coal spilled all over the track. “Oh, rattling rivets! Now we’re surely stuck.” Luckily, aside from a few dents, no one was hurt, and Logan had derailed right near the Arlesdale Railway’s ballast yard. From there, his driver was able to phone the Search and Rescue Center for assistance. Unfortunately, the fog was so thick, that even if they did dispatch Rocky, the center’s Ransomes & Rapier 45-ton steam crane, to clear the track, he would basically be working blind. So Logan had to wait there until morning before he could get back on track. When Harvey; the Dübs Crane Tank engine, arrived with Rocky the next morning, Jack had also arrived with Ms. Jenny to help clear the coal spill.

“Not to worry, Logan,” said Jack. “We’ll have this mess cleaned up in no time.”

“Thanks, guys,” said Logan as Hector was winched upright. “Ugh, this is embarrassing.”

“Say Harvey, I was just thinking,” said Rocky as he put Hector back in the tracks. “How does Sodor’s safety record stack up to the rest of Britain’s railways?”

“Trust me, Rocky,” said the crane engine. “You don’t wanna know.”

“That bad, huh?” asked Rocky.

“Worse,” said Harvey. Back at the sheds, the engines and their partners were growing impatient.

“Sheesh,” said Rainbow looking at her watch. “What’s going on out there? We should’ve left with the express twenty minutes ago.”

“You’re not the only one suffering these delays, Rainbow,” chuffed Toby as Applejack cleaned out his pipes.

“She’s not the only one suffering, period,” she said, pulling her soot-covered hands out of his pipes. “You’re gettin’ on in years more than anyone on the island, Toby.”

“Yes, I suppose,” said Toby, sighing. “I hate getting old.”

“Don’t we all,” said Applejack.

“Whatever the reason,” said Gordon importantly. “How typical it should happen on Godred’s Day of all days.”

“I must agree with you there, Gordon,” said Rarity. “I was hoping James and I could finish our work early today, so we could get baths before the parade. Seeing as how we’re leading it with you and the others, it is imperative we look our best. And I had just the ensemble for tonight’s fireworks gala as well.”

Just then, Butch the thoroughbred Scammell tow truck drove in. “We got trouble near Arlesburgh,” he said. “Logan’s coal train from last night derailed and blocked the track.”

“Cinders and ashes,” said Thomas. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” said Butch. “But the track took a bit of damage in the crash, so it’ll need to be repaired on the double.”

“We’re on it, Butch,” said Applejack jumping aboard Toby. “We’ll hit up the foundry and get some rails.”

“No, let us go,” said Rainbow jumping on to Gordon. “We’re the fastest team in the fleet.”

“Alright,” said Toby. “Thomas, you and Twilight head over to the lumber mill and get some timber to replace the sleepers.”

“On it,” said Twilight as she and Thomas quickly made for the yard near Henry’s Forest. Soon enough, the two engines had arrived at the site of the crash and were working to replace the broken track. Hector could still roll himself, but Logan had to be loaded onto a flatbed for transport to the Steamworks.

“You okay, Logan?” asked Rainbow.

“I’m fine,” said the shunter. “Just a few dings. I’ve had worse shunting.”

“Good engine,” said Twilight. “Plus, silver lining; the Steamworks is right along the line the parade goes along. You might get to see it after all.”

“I’m afraid the parade’s running this year is still up for discussion, Thomas,” said Ms. Jenny. “The actual repairs won’t take long, but the track might be too weak to withstand too much abuse.”

“Are you saying we’ll have to cancel the parade, Ms. Jenny?” asked Thomas hoping she wouldn’t say yes.

“I’m saying there’s a good chance of that happening,” said Ms. Jenny. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” The repairs to both Logan and his train, and the track went smoothly, and after a careful inspection by Ms. Jenny and Sir Topham Hatt, the line was deemed safe to travel on, but a strict speed limit would be put into effect to make sure it wouldn’t take too much more damage. Practically everyone could feel the island’s collective sigh of relief when this news spread, and after the Steam Team (Consisting, by the way, of Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Duck, the Caledonian twins Donald and Douglas and Oliver) returned to Tidmouth, they all received a thorough washdown and maintenance. After all the engines were inspected and their partners got dressed for the evening gala, all that was left was to assemble for the parade at Vicarstown. The whole island turned out by the track-side to watch the parade, and everyone at the station got ready to move out.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen,” said Gordon. “You know the drill. Follow my lead.”

“Let’s just make sure your dome doesn’t go flying off again, eh Gordon?” asked Henry.

“Only if you promise not to be scared of any rain, old boy,” the express engine retorted.

“Cmon now, ya bludgers,” cried Donald. “Let’s go.” When the conductor blew his whistle, the parade started with the engines rumbling out of the station, with their introductions being called out by a rep from the BBC near the track just before they thundered away across the island, with a short slowing across the repaired section of the line. And I’m pleased to say, Logan and Hector’s repairs were done just in time for them to watch the parade from the Steamworks. Once done with that, the engines all gathered at Ulfstead Castle for the gala. A good time was had by all that night, with the stars glistening and glittering in the sky, and they were all ready for the fireworks, but it had to be preceded by a speech from the Earl.

“Ladies and gentlemen, engines and coaches, good evening,” he said. “Tonight we gather here to honor the memory of Sodor’s ancient King Godred MacHarold. A younger son of Harald, Danish king of Limerick, as we all know, he took advantage of a defeat of the Norse by the Irish to go a-Viking. He harried Wales, then sailing up north, landed at a creek near the Ilse of Man’s Jurby, on a starlit night much like tonight. To the wondering natives, familiar with fair-haired Norse but not dark-haired Danes, he pointed to the stars reflected in the water nearby and simply said ‘There is the path running from my country to this place. That is my road to fame and fortune’. It was this statement that earned him the nickname ‘Starstrider’. And so we light up the sky tonight just like it was lit on that night he first arrived. Light ‘em up!” The crew nearby lit up the fireworks nearby and they shot into the night sky, bursting with color and noise.

Everyone cheered and laughed as the brass band started playing. That night was filled with joy, jocularity, conversation, and on Rainbow’s part, lots and lots of cider. As old friends caught up on past times and new ones were made. That night, no one cared where who came from or what they believed. They all simply knew they were proud to be Sudrians enjoying the celebration.


	14. Little Engines

The narrow-gauge railway of Sodor known as the Skarloey Railway, named for its number 1 engine Skarloey, has run for over a century and a half with him and his brother Rheneas; a carmine-red Fletcher Jennings Class Bb tank engine, leading the ever-growing, often aged, fleet, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t inclined to experience some trouble.

One day, James and Rarity were at the River Hoo Wharf when they saw the railway’s FR Double Fairlie; Mighty Mac looking rather unusual. Now, before I go any further, I should say that Mighty Mac may seem like a single engine to most, but he’s actually two in one; one at each end. Anyway, Rarity noticed that as they arrived with a train of stone trucks, Mighty; the older of the two ends, seemed very strained whereas Mac; Mighty’s younger brother, just seemed hot and bothered, and thus, she decided to pursue it. “Something wrong, boys?” she asked.

“Yeah, up at the Blue Mountain Quarry,” said Mighty. “Things up there have been slowing down a bit recently, especially with no dedicated engine to shunt the trucks, so we’ve had to shunt our own trains for weeks.”

“Not only that, but Sir Handel’s been complaining to no end about the express getting heavier every other week,” said Mac. “I tell ya, if either of those businesses go under, we might as well just close up the line.”

“Don’t say that, Mac,” said James. “Your line is one of the most important on the whole island of Sodor. We’ll speak to the Fat Controller about this and see what we can do.”

“Could you please?” asked Mighty. “It’d be much appreciated by the whole line.” James and Rarity both agreed to help, and once their train was loaded, they steamed off to Brendam Docks. Once there, she saw the docks thrumming with work as usual with Sunset helping the dockside crane Cranky maneuver cargo to load onto trains from the nearby ship. James saw this as an opportunity to help the little engines.

“Peep Peep!” he whistled. “Oh Sunset, can we talk to you for a moment?” When she saw her old friend and the engine, she smiled and walked over.

“I’ll just be a second Cranky!” she called up to the crane.

“Take your time,” said Cranky. “I’ve been doing this since the 20s.”

“How’s it going, guys?” asked Sunset. “This the stone you picked up from the wharf?”

“The very same, darling,” said Rarity as she climbed down. “But while we were up there, we learned of something rather disheartening and confusing.” And she told Sunset what Mighty Mac had told her and James.

“Huh. So what, they need new engines?” asked Sunset.

“Just two,” replied James. “Any ideas?”

“Not off the top of my head,” said Sunset. “Maybe Twilight’s dad will though.” Quickly, she pulled out her mobile phone and opened a call to Twilight’s father, affectionately nicknamed Night Light. It rang for a few minutes before her friend’s father picked up.

“Sparkle residence,” he said. “Sodor Railway Archivist Eric Sparkle speaking.”

“Hi Mr. Sparkle,” said Sunset. “It’s Twilight’s friend Sunset.”

“Ah Sunset, good to speak to you again,” he said. “How can I help you?”

“More a matter of helping the Skarloey line’s engines,” said Sunset. “They need a permanent pilot engine at the quarry yard and a dedicated express engine. Any ideas?”

“I think so,” said Night Light. “I remember some old engines I saw in the island archives once, might even give their current locations. Maybe I could pull them out for you.”

“You’re sure Sir Topham Hatt won’t mind?” asked Sunset.

“Pfft. I doubt it,” said Night Light. “If anything, he and Mr. Percival will be happy for our work to help the crew.”

“Alright, sounds good,” said Sunset. “I’ll get the others and we’ll meet you at the Vicarstown Archives.”

“Sounds fine,” said Night Light. “See you there.”

“Alright thanks, bye,” said Sunset and she hung up. “You guys hear that?”

“Just texted the others,” said Rarity, putting away her own phone. “They’ll be waiting for us at the next station. We can catch Emily’s next train there. I trust you can handle things without me, James?”

“Always Rarity,” said James as he steamed off. “Good luck with the hunt.”

“Thanks,” said Sunset. “I think we might need it.” Later on, Emily; a GNR G3 Sterling Single engine who acted as a bit of a big sister to most of the other engines, picked them and the other girls up and brought them all to Vicarstown to find Night Light; a kind old man with gold eyes and blue hair in a blue suit, outside a door in the main station building with a sign above it labeled “Sodor Railway Archives”.

“Well girls,” he said opening the door to show a large complex of shelves piled high with books and papers. “Help yourselves. I’d check the section on the MSR if I were you. That might give you some ideas of engines to hire.”

“Thanks, Dad,” said Twilight as she and the others made their way in. Once they actually made it to the section he suggested, they cracked open the books and notes to start looking, but no luck. Things drew out like that for a while, but finally, Pinkie saw something.

“Found it!” she said and they all gathered to look at the notes Pinkie had found. “Right here; Mid-Sodor Railway Express engine and mine pilot.” They saw the notes indeed, as well as pictures of both a “War Office” Hunslet engine; said by the notes to be painted dull yellow, and an open-cabbed variant of the Jouef Decauville Type 1 engine, said to be deep brown with bronze domes.

“Andreas and Atlas,” said Rarity, reading their names and looking at their old black-and-white pictures to see smart and kind-looking faces. “Quite nice-looking chaps.”

“Well, where are they?” asked Sunset.

“Looks like they were sold to the Titterstone Clee Hill Quarry Railway,” said Twilight, looking over the notes. “That’s a quick ride away from Barrow if we hop on the right train.”

“So what, we’re just going on vacation to Ludlow?” asked Rainbow.

“Why not?” asked Rarity. “I’ve never been.”

“Well then,” said Twilight, taking the notes. “Pack your bags, girls. We’re heading across the country.” They quickly did so, and upon securing a train from Barrow-in-Furness aboard Gordon’s friend Alfred; a rather boastful LNER B12 engine, they started the four-hour-long ride to the mining town. Once that was done, they arrived at the station just in time to see the very engines they were there to find pulling into the station.

“Ugh. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times Andreas,” groaned Atlas. “You’re not Duke, so stop pretending to be him will you?”

“I’m simply saying, dear Atlas, that sort of thing would never suit his grace,” said Andreas, sounding almost exactly like Duke himself.

“Yeah, these are definitely the guys we’re looking for,” said Rainbow before she moved to the edge of the platform and whistled to them. “Hey, guys! We’re looking for some new engines for a line on Sodor. You game?”

“Hmm? Is that so?” asked Atlas. “Well, I would love to return to old Arlesdale.”

“But their director is going to have to speak with ours,” said Andreas. “Railways _are_ business after all.”

“Of course Andreas,” said Twilight. “Let me just make a call.” She walked off to make a long-distance call back to Mr. Percival while Rarity looked the engines over.

“My heavens you two, your paint looks horrid,” she said, looking over the dirt on Andreas’ tanks. “When was the last time you had a wash, Andreas?”

“Not much time to wash between taking trains of workers to and from the line’s mine,” said Andreas.

“Right well, first order of business once you two get back to Sodor is for me to give the both of you a good hose-down,” said Rarity seriously.

“Well, good news then,” said Twilight, walking back over, having gotten off the phone. “Mr. Percival has agreed to talk with your controller about buying you.”

“Think it’ll work out?” asked Atlas.

“Given the fact that I told him you guys are friends with Duke,” she said before realizing something. “You are, aren’t you?”

“Certainly,” said Andreas. “Though Falcon and I have gotten into a tiff or two about passenger trains in the past.”

“Well then, in that case, I’m honestly surprised you guys haven’t been brought back to the island sooner,” said Twilight. “Who knows? He might get a bargain price for you.” And indeed he did, with both engines being purchased for dirt-cheap. The two were quickly prepared for transport just a few hours before Alice arrived with two low-loaders and a branch-line brake carriage to take the girls and the two engines back to Sodor.

“Peep Peep! All aboard!” whistled Alice as the crane lifted the engines onto the train. “Next stop; Crovan’s Gate.”

“All right old girl,” said her driver as the guard blew his whistle and waved the green flag. “Full steam ahead!”

“Right away, driver,” said Alice as she whistled and started pumping her pistons. Her wheels slipped a bit and she strained but finally, she got the train underway. “Whew. You two are a lot heavier than you look.”

“Oh thanks,” said Andreas crossly.

“Oh. Sorry,” said Alice quickly. “I just meant-”

“Ah, he knows what you meant,” said Atlas. “Better get used to that sort of thing. Andreas has always been the grumpy type.” The train clattered through the English countryside for the whole four-hour trek. Alice had some trouble on hills because, as she had said, the two engines were actually very heavy. But nonetheless, the train soon pulled into Vicarstown Station with a very tired Alice at the front. Thankfully, Henry had just pulled in from the other direction and saw Alice, tired and low on fuel.

“Need a hand, Alice?” he asked kindly.

“Yes please,” she said as Sunset uncoupled her from the flatbeds and let her run off onto a siding. “These two need to get up to Crovan’s Gate.”

“Piece of cake,” said Henry as he was uncoupled from his own train, which was then quickly shunted away. “Just let me get turned around and I’ll be right on it.” With that, he steamed off to the turntable. Once done, he backed down on the two engines and was hooked up to the train. Fluttershy decided to ride with her engine and climbed into his cab.

“Alright Henry,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“Right,” said the engine as the guard blew his whistle. “Peep Peep!” he whistled and steamed off, with much more gusto and speed than Alice, surprising the two engines. Andreas looked rather uncomfortable as Atlas just whooped and hollered in excitement as he felt the wind blowing past his funnel and around his wheels. Finally, the large engine skidded to a stop at Crovan’s Gate, surprising Rheneas.

“Henry? I thought Alice was supposed to be bringing in the new engines?” he asked.

“She got tired on the drive to Vicarstown,” said Sunset as she and the others moved to help Andreas and Atlas to be unloaded. “She asked Henry to take over, and here we are.”

“Ah. I see,” said Rheneas. “Well, either way, good afternoon you two. Welcome to the Skarloey Railway. I’m the brother of its namesake Rheneas.”

“A pleasure,” said Atlas as he was winched off the train with a crane. “I’m Atlas, your new quarry pilot. And this is Andreas, the new express engine.”

“Good day,” said the express engine as Atlas’ wheels landed on the track.

“A pleasure to meet you both,” said Rheneas. “I’m sure you’ll get along with our crew famously.”

“Well, well, well, look who it is,” said a cross-sounding familiar voice, making Rheneas wince.

“Well… most of them anyway,” he said as Sir Handel pulled in with a train of empty trucks.

“If it isn’t snooty old Andreas,” said the blue engine. “Haven’t seen you in a few years.”

“Oh joy,” said Andreas sarcastically as he was winched onto the tracks. “Look who it is, Atlas; it’s old Vulture.”

“Falcon!” corrected a growling Sir Handel. “And even then, that’s not my name anymore. Just look.”

“‘Sir Handel’?” asked Andreas, looking at his nameplate. “What kind of name is that?”

“That of our manager from the late 20th century,” said Rheneas indignantly. “And he’s not the only one named for an old crewmember, so I’d suggest you treat them with respect.”

“Indeed old boy,” said Duke as he rolled in. “You know that sort of behavior-”

“Would never suit his grace, we know Grandpuff,” said Sir Handel, not in the mood to be around for one of these rants. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get these trucks up to the quarry.”

“Oh, mind if I join you Sir Handel?” asked Atlas. “Might be nice to see my new workplace.”

Sir Handel smiled. He would later admit that he had always respected Atlas; not just as a hard worker, but as a friend as well. “Certainly Atlas,” he said as he started out of the yard. “Right this way.” And with that, the two steamed off up to the quarry. Andreas and Duke moved to the yard and quickly got caught up in an argument which lasted until the yard manager walked over.

“Excuse me Andreas, but there’s a passenger train waiting at the platform,” he said. “Duke has to get up to the hills and help the farmers for market season. Can you pull it?”

“Naturally sir,” said Andreas. “I’ll be there promptly.”

“Not looking like that, you won’t,” said Rarity, stopping the little engine. “You still need to be cleaned.”

“She’s right old boy,” said Duke, looking over his old friend’s grimy paintwork. “You can’t go handling passenger trains while you’re that filthy.”

“Certainly not Duke,” said Andreas, agreeing with him. “Very well Ms. Rarity. Do your best.”

“Oh, I’ll do more than my best, darling,” said Rarity as she quickly grabbed a bucket and set of engine-cleaning tools. “You’ll look good as new once I’m done.” And indeed he did; Once Rarity had finished, the little engine had been cleaned to sparkling from funnel to footplate; Even his buffers shone in the afternoon sun. Andreas smiled as he steamed up to the platform and was coupled up to the train.

Once hooked up, he steamed off into the hills. And thus, the SKR’s fleet had the two new additions it needed; Andreas and Atlas, jokers at times, but more than serious when hard at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andreas and Atlas are more of WildNorWester's original characters.


	15. Sodor's History

Work was going well on Sodor, and Sunset was having the time of her life riding with Edward. Though for the last few days, the two had been seeing large crews of people setting up video cameras next to the tracks and were getting very interested and confused.

One morning, Sir Topham Hatt and a man in a suit came to see them at Wellsworth as Sunset was unloading some of Edward’s vans. “Good day, you two,” said the controller. “Do you have a moment?”

“For you, Sir? Always,” said Edward. “What can we do for you?”

“I expect you’ll know my guest,” said Sir Topham, pointing to the man who was with him. “Mr. Curtis is a rather famous director in his field.”

“Wait, _Adam_ Curtis?” asked Sunset.

“The very same,” said Mr. Curtis. “A pleasure to meet you, miss…?”

“Uh, Saunders,” said Sunset, shaking his hand. “Jessica Saunders, but everyone calls me Sunset Shimmer. And this is my partner Edward.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Curtis,” said Edward, redirecting his attention to Sir Topham Hatt. “If you don’t mind my asking Sir, what’s this about? Does it have anything to do with the film crews along the line?”

“Indeed it does Edward,” said Mr. Curtis. “We’re here for the BBC to shoot a documentary on Sodor’s railways and the engines that run it.”

“As in non-faceless vehicles?” asked Sunset.

“Indeed. All that’s missing is one thing;” said Mr. Curtis. “Hosts. And I’ve done my research to reveal that Edward here is one of the oldest engines on the railway, and you’re no slouch with Sudrian history either, Ms. Saunders. Interested?”

“Indeed,” said Edward. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the telly, and I wouldn’t mind another time on it.”

“I’m in if Edward’s in,” said Sunset.

“Tops,” said Mr. Curtis. “We’ll start recording in the yard in an hour. Don’t worry about your lines, we’ll give you a teleprompter.”

“Right then,” said Edward as Sunset boarded him. “I trust arrangements have been made to handle our trains, sir?”

“Already taken care of, Edward,” said Sir Topham Hatt. “Now you two go on and be ready.” They didn’t need to be told twice as they quickly steamed into the yard, surprised to see the other girls there, as well as Flash and Sunburst.

“Bubbling boilers, what’re you doing here?” asked Edward.

“We’re here for you two, darling,” said Rarity as she helped Sunset down from the cab and had her sit down nearby. “You must look presentable if you’re to be on television,” Sunset smirked at Rarity for being her usual chipper, cleanliness-obsessed self and figured she was right; Edward had been given back-to-back work for a few days without much time in-between jobs to get a washdown, leaving his paint filthy and her own clothes, face, and hair was a bit sooty itself. Rarity quickly set to work dressing Sunset in a women’s suit with an orange shirt as well as cleaning her hair and face before she redid both of their makeup (just because), while the others set to work cleaning Edward until his whistle shone like gold.

Once they were all done, Mr. Curtis came back to the yard with a camera crew and teleprompter ready to record. “Alright everyone, take position; Sunset, I’d like you sitting on Edward’s bufferbeam so we can get a good view of both of your faces,” he said. Sunset quickly obliged, sitting just to the right of his left-most lamp-iron. “Perfect. Now just read off the prompter and we’ll record. Ready?”

“As ever, sir,” said Edward. The red light started on the camera, and when Mr. Curtis said “Action”, the prompter started rolling, and Edward started reading. “Upon reflection of the Reverend Awdry’s stories about our Island of Sodor, I’ve come to realize how little history we’ve included in them about the Railway that runs upon it. Granted, we have mentioned the odd point in-between stories and new arrivals, but I think these came off more as throwaway details than anything else, and while we can be rather specific with regards to some of the other companies that operate alongside us engines, others we’ve neglected entirely.”

“To that end,” Sunset said. “We’ll be diving into the earlier years of the railways that brought life to the Island of Sodor, leading up to where the reverend’s books start off. We’ll also be talking about a few lesser-known facts about the island’s history, including some certain early arrivals and some surprising tidbits about them. I’m Sunset Shimmer…”

“And I’m Edward,” said the engine. “And this is a Sodor Special.” And thus began this history lesson of Sodor, leading the crew across the island in open coaches so they could see the scenery, though the next voice-clip itself was recorded at Barrow on the mainland.

“The first railway ever to come to the island was the Sodor and Mainland Railway, or S&MR for short,” said Edward. “With work beginning here at Barrow-in-Furness on June 15, 1853. For the next year and a half, its five engines; the most famous of them being the boxy brothers Clive, Neil, and Matthew, worked tirelessly to connect the island’s capital Suddery, going so far as to build a bridge to that effect, connecting Barrow to the city of Vicarstown.”

“Given that railway was supposed to be the bedrock, so to speak, of Sodor’s industrialization,” Sunset picked up. “The workers spared no effort or expense in its construction. And on December 9th, 1857, the line was officially opened, beginning goods and passenger services that very afternoon.”

“Over the following few decades, the S&MR would extend even further across the island,” said Edward. “Reaching its greatest extent in 1882 at the newly established Maron Station. This line’s benefits were enormous as it did indeed provide a solid foundation for the island’s industrialization, seeing an exponential rise in work opportunities and the introduction of various machines designed to increase efficiency, most of which are now on display at Sodor’s history museum in Vicarstown. Sodor had entered a golden age, but no metal is without its rust, not even gold.”

“Edward used to be old friends with Clive; the S&MR’s old number one, and the old-timer used to tell Edward stories about those halcyon days,” said Sunset. “Though he would become particularly irritable when talking about their board of directors, saying they were overly ambitious and downright risky when it came to company expansion. That Maron extension, for example, was preceded by the construction of the Hawin Ab Viaduct, which was its most costly venture beyond any doubt.”

“Yes, and according to Clive, the company nearly went bankrupt after that and they never fully recovered,” said Edward, now scowling. “He freely admitted that they barely made it by from then on, finally closing in 1901. Though despite a somewhat ignoble end, the company’s mark on Sodor was profound, to say the least. Throughout its running, the island’s various communities were keen to reap the benefits the railway had presented them with. And reap they most certainly did, getting together to discuss founding their own, and high in the island’s mountains, another company was already working hard.” For this next clip, the crew was forced to move back up to the Arlesburgh transfer station.

“Not a lot of people know this about the Arlesdale Railway, but it used to be home to the island’s first narrow-gauge railway named, aptly enough, the Mid-Sodor Railway,” said Sunset. “Work on the line first began in the early 1840s, at the town of King Orry’s Bridge. Three guesses as to what the town’s named after, first two don’t count.” She and Edward chuckled a bit at that before getting back on track.

“Now here’s one of those little-known facts we were going to mention,” said Edward. “Duke, named, of course, for his Grace; the Duke of Sodor, was the first engine ever built on Sodor. Well okay, maybe not ‘built’ per se, as he was essentially brought here in packed-up pieces from England in 1880. Neil and Matthew then delivered them up to Arlesdale, and from there, Duke’s parts were shipped up to King Orry’s Bridge by horse-drawn carriage where he was assembled and first-fired. For the next two years, the little tender engine juggled handling his trains and extending the line with extreme professionalism. When they opened up a ballast mine at Cros-ny-Cuirn in 1884, Atlas was brought in to offer assistance, having been brought up much the same way as Duke.”

“Atlas is actually one of our newer arrivals, but we’ll get to that later,” said Sunset. “Anyway, the two of them worked well together for the next 20 years. When an old tramway on the northern part of the island closed in 1904, the MSR’s board of directors saw an opportunity for expansion and bought the place up. The expansion was then carried out almost militarily, construction undertaken from both ends, carried out in the lowlands by their newest additions; Stuart and Falcon, who you may know better as Sir Handel and Peter Sam. The extension ran like clockwork with both ends connecting at Arlesdale on April 12th, 1906.”

“This was the time and place the four engines would finally meet each other for the very first time,” said Edward. “They got along like oil and vinegar for most of their time together. Except when they were pulling pranks on each other. Times like those, they got along like oil and water. The standard gauge line would be extended up to meet at Arlesburgh in 1918, with three new recruits joining them two years later; Andreas, Smudger and Bertram. Though Smudger caused more accidents than he actually helped and was eventually converted into a generator behind their sheds, and Bertram ended up trapped at a mine in the hills which Toby would later discover. No one knows how he got there though, and he doesn’t exactly like to talk about it. The engines were instrumental during both world wars, though the company went under after the second, forced to sell most of their engines. Andreas and Atlas both ended up in Ludlow, while Stuart and Falcon were bought up by the Skarloey Railway. And Duke? Well, everyone already knows that story. And speaking of the Skarloey Railway, that’s actually our next topic.”

That topic was given thematic appropriateness at Crovan’s Gate, where Skarloey and Rheneas were working hard as usual. “Of all the island’s railways, past or present, few have been as popular or misunderstood as the Skarloey Railway,” said Sunset. “Misunderstood in the sense that its history and facts tend to fluctuate. You might hear somewhere that there are ten engines, whereas elsewhere you might hear there are eleven or even 14. I’d have to say that the last option is true; there are 14 engines on this line, and there are also a few little-known facts about the line.”

“First and foremost; it was intended as an industrial line, run by its namesake Skarloey and his brother Rheneas, the twins of their rather more famous Welsh counterparts Talyllyn and Dolgoch,” said Edward. “Second; its original name was the Crovan’s Gate Railway, changed when Skarloey first arrived. For those of you familiar with the Reverend Awdry’s books and the television series, you’d be forgiven for thinking the line only mined slate and Blue Mountain stone, but here’s another little known fact; it was actually founded in 1865 for copper mining. The slate and stone quarries featured so prominently to the outside world wouldn’t start appearing on the line until about a hundred years later when the line extended into the Nartwin Valley; an undertaking best left for a story in the future.”

“Now back to the line’s history,” said Sunset, walking out onto the platform just as Skarloey pulled in. “Work on the line began in 1865, the same year Skarloey here and his brother Rheneas first arrived on the island from Whitehaven.”

“Oh yes, I remember those days well,” said Skarloey. “Would you mind if I told the story?”

“Not a bit, old boy,” said Edward. “Go right ahead.”

“Right then,” said the old engine, clearing his figurative throat to recount the history of the line. “For the whole year after our arrival, Rheneas and I worked to extend our line through the terrain of to the hills outside Boxford, where the copper mining was to commence. And when our line opened on July 6th of that year, we set to work immediately, transporting supplies to the various hill-farms and industries around the hills. Unfortunately, there was much more work than the two of us could handle on our own, especially after the line extended further into the hills, so our various controllers over the years bought several other engines to help us, most of which I think you already know.”

“Thank you Skarloey,” said Sunset. “That was some very nice history. Now off you go, old boy. Back to work.”

“Right-o,” said Skarloey, departing with a cheery “Peep-Peep!” on his whistle back to work.

“Now let’s turn our attention back to the standard gauge line,” said Edward, allowing the camera to cut before they all left, back to Wellsworth.

“What’s now known as Edward’s Brendam Branch Line started out as the property of the old Wellsworth and Suddery Railway,” said Sunset. “Its construction began on October 23rd, 1867, and it was really contentious. Mostly because its three engines: Colin; a kind, hardworking Pecket class 1687 industrial, Lily; a respectable caring 0-4-4T 'LSWR O2 class' engine (always described by Gordon to be a proper lady), and Adam; a strong and loyal though arrogant Adams Radial Tank engine, had to use the S&MR’s line to deliver supplies from England to the various building sites. I honestly can’t imagine how that must’ve been for the S&MR’s engines.”

“Nor can I,” said Edward. “Being forced to share their lines just so that a new company, i.e.: new competition, could open up next to them? Sheesh. Clive did tell me they were compensated for this, but it takes a lot more than money to heal a bruised ego. As I’m sure Rainbow Dash can attest to, eh?” The two laughed while Rainbow herself, who had heard that particular gem from the coach, was blushing in frustration.

“Anyway, after its main station here at Wellsworth was built in 1886, the W&SR began extending all across the southern peninsula to the towns of Suddery and Brendam, the latter of which was made their terminus and later became Brendam Docks, the main port of Sodor nowadays,” said Sunset. “They were also the ones who laid the lines over Gordon’s Hill, then referred to as the Preston Incline, named after the company’s director, Nathaniel Preston, who I’ve heard was actually a very nice guy.”

“There isn’t really a lot more we can mention about that company, apart from the Crosby Station construction in 1902 and the China Claypits in 1913,” said Edward. “But after that and the company’s closing in 1914, the engines simply… vanished. No one knows what happened to them. But aside from that, I’m sure our telling of its history makes it sound rather dull and uneventful. Largely due to the fact that… well… it was. It didn’t suffer any major catastrophe or setback.”

“Honestly, I’d call that a blessing,” said Sunset. “And to their credit, they also laid the rails that would start one last company.”

“Oh yes of course,” said Edward. “My line. Returning to the story of that tramway closing in 1904, that is because earlier that year, a new company was established; the Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Railway. Once the line was ready to be set up, they bought several engines to help run and expand it; including myself, my old friend Winston and of course Crovan; the third blue engine in the sheds at that time. Of course, our welcome was less than stellar when we arrived at Brendam, but we weren’t bothered by it and set straight to work laying lines and beginning work with freight and passengers. Other engines arrived in the form of Gordon, Henry, and Alfred, the three companies were made up into one, and well… the rest is history.” And thus closed the first part of their documentary, though there was another part to deal with the next day no doubt.


	16. Non-Faceless Vehicles

The next morning went about as one could expect with hard work being done all over the island by all engines and teams. At the end of a rather long local passenger run, Edward and sunset were very excited to get back to the documentary. Once they pulled back into Wellsworth Station, they saw Mr. Curtis, the film crew from yesterday and the girls at the platform again.

“Morning Edward. Sunset,” he said. “You two ready?”

“I will be in a minute,” said Sunset as she climbed down from the cab with a bag. “I packed an outfit I wanted to use today. Just let me change really quick and I’ll be right back. Rarity, gonna need you for makeup.”

“Certainly dear,” said Rarity as she held the door to the station.

“Take your time,” said Mr. Curtis as he let Sunset and Rarity slip into the station building. “How about you Edward? You ready?”

“As ever, sir,” said the old engine. “I did my best to stay clean and presentable for the show today.”

“And I’d say you succeeded, big fella,” said Mr. Curtis. “Now then, for today’s show, we’re going to be getting into the history of non-faceless vehicles. You prepared for that?”

“Naturally sir,” said Edward. “I was actually around for most of that history, so I should remember it well.”

“Excellent,” said Mr. Curtis. “We start shooting once Sunset’s done.” It took a minute before that happened, but when Sunset finally did come out of the building she looked stunning.

She had almost overdone it with the eye makeup, making the area around her eyes appear to be burning with a yellow gradient to red, and painting her nails gleaming gold. She was now wearing a black bodysuit that appeared to reflect gold in the sunlight, though that was downplayed by her gold dress that almost looked like it was made of gold feathers and a bird-shape on her chest underneath her new (though a bit oversized) red jacket with black sleeves and belt with gold spikes on her collar and sleeves and her usual yin-yang sun insignia embroidered on her back, as well as thigh-high black spike-stiletto heels with gold flames up her legs. “What do you think?” she asked.

“Lovely Sunset,” said Mr. Curtis. “But why spikes?”

“Well, my ex Flash always used to call me his flaming rose, and what’s a rose without thorns?” asked Sunset.

“Either way, it looks lovely Sunset,” said Edward. “Now let’s get this underway, shall we?”

“Let’s,” said Mr. Curtis as the group moved back to the yard, took up their previous positions, and rolled the camera. “And… action.”

“We can’t count the number of people who’ve visited Sodor over the years,” said Edward. “How many have come for its scenery, and how many have come for its railway in action. Nor can we count the number of times we’ve been asked ‘How and why do we have faces’? That’s by far the most popular question put to us engines, and there’s a simple explanation; we vehicles who run the industries of Sodor are what one would describe as non-faceless vehicles, who have everything from faces to personalities, including emotions like love, though we do express it much differently than humans. There is also the faceless variety of vehicles, which I’m sure most other people are familiar with.”

“Now sure that’s not exactly much of an explanation, but thankfully we’ll be delving into the specifics of these two types today,” said Sunset. “I’m Sunset Shimmer…”

“And I’m Edward,” said the engine. “And this is a Sodor Special.” To begin, they then left for the Sodor Steamworks; only the single largest steam-engine workshop on Sodor. “To begin our story on the differentiation, we’ll start with the origins of non-faceless vehicles; The year was 1829 and the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, thanks to the adoption of steam-powered machinery and transportation.”

“Our world had just entered a new age of prosperity, and the people of Sodor obviously wanted to share in it,” said Sunset. “To that end, a government initiative was formed to bring industry to the island; the first phase of which was building it a railway line. The engine workshops up in Glasgow were contracted to build the engines and rolling stock needed to run this line. And it was in the grimy halls of Robert Stephenson and Company that the crews made history.”

Later on, the crews would edit in a reenactment of the construction, firing and “birth” of Stephen, which the group would have the pleasure of watching as it was being edited in.

“Stephen’s awakening, needless to say, caused quite a stir,” said Edward. “The workshop crews were absolutely dumbfounded by this new discovery, as was society in general.”

“Naturally, afraid they might’ve accidentally stumbled upon the secret to creating life a la Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ (which is a really good book by the way), the crew had every square inch of the wooden engine thoroughly examined, with his permission I might add, to determine how they had managed to do it,” said Sunset. “Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, they came out with diddly-squat; no one could explain it, not even the men who built Stephen in the first place, which was even more confusing. A little-known fact about the old engine is that he was actually given his names by said workers, though he did apparently have preferences. That’s how it’s been every time a vehicle gains sentience from then until now.”

“This was the start of the Age of the Non-faceless Vehicle,” said Edward. “Over the following decades as technology advanced, more and more began appearing on the land, air, _and_ sea. And not just in the United Kingdom, either.” Then he whistled as Hiro, a Japanese JNR Class D51 tender engine rumbled through. “Afternoon, Hiro.”

“Kon’nichiwa Edward,” he said as he rumbled through.

“Now naturally, non-faceless vehicles have a lot of advantages as opposed to their faceless cousins,” said Sunset. “But they aren’t infallible, having some of their own disadvantages as well.” For that part, the crew moved to the scrapyards.

“Now before we go any further, I think it’s important that we lay out a few things,” said Edward. “First and foremost, whenever a non-faceless vehicle is… well, ‘born’…, it’s by way of a process commonly referred to as an Awakening, so named because well, that’s what it feels like when we’re first activated; waking up. I mention this because Stephen’s awakening was a very momentous occasion for two significant reasons. One; it meant the start of a new kind of life. And two; the so-called ‘myth’ of spontaneous combustion was made a reality.”

“See, after a non-faceless vehicle is fired up for the first time (the aptly named ‘First Firing’, to use the correct terminology), they’re then able to ignite or extinguish whatever form of combustion it is that powers them. Best of all, it’s instantaneous, no muss no fuss. Once an engine’s good and hot, they’re outta there. Which then raises the next question; ‘What happens to a non-faceless vehicle when they run out of fuel? Does it hurt? Or is it the equivalent of starving’?”

“Thankfully, the answer to both is no,” said Edward. “When we run out of fuel, that just means we can’t move anymore, end of story. Though, on that note, many people are surprised when we tell them we can move ourselves, which in turn leads to the inevitable question; ‘Why do we have crews in the first place?’ There are plenty of reasons, but the most common is, well… common sense; crews provide us with regular maintenance and monitor our performance while at work and keep us from overexerting ourselves. Not to mention, they are invaluable in case we break down, as they can quickly set about fixing it.”

“Now naturally, that’s where one of those advantages I mentioned comes in,” said Sunset. “Since non-faceless vehicles can talk and feel pain, they can tell their crews where their faults are, so the repair process is that much easier. Speaking of which, you’re probably wondering how engines can _take_ maintenance, when it so often involves cutting, drilling, welding and oftentimes dismemberment? This is thanks to what’s basically the anesthetic of non-faceless vehicles; a chemical agent colloquially known as Green Water. Once it’s introduced, the vehicle passes out and the crews can go to work. Once done, you just fire the vehicle up to wake them up. Or in the case of non-faceless rolling stock, just give ‘em a shove. But most importantly, crews are their engines’ friends and help provide company and moral support while at work.”

“Sadly, nothing is perfect and we do have some disadvantages,” said Edward. “For one, we’ve been called, and I quote, ‘an impediment to progress’, which most of us engines, myself included, take as horribly offensive. Naturally, things are constantly changing, especially in regard to technology; no sooner something comes out, it’s almost instantly replaced by something newer. Usually, this means the previous generation is discarded. For vehicles, this almost always means one thing; scrap. But since we non-faceless vehicles _can’t_ be scrapped, as is the law (at least, not while we’re still alive), our owners are basically stuck with us.”

“Naturally, a company that owns non-faceless vehicles has a duty to care to keep said vehicles maintained, but the owners are also under no obligation whatsoever to affect any sort of repair that could price them out of business,” said Sunset. “I’ve never found myself happy with that side of that law. I mean, non-faceless vehicles are living beings too; they should at least get the same humane rights and treatment as humans. Though regrettably, this isn’t so and it’s has led to the closure of more than a few companies. Naturally, non-faceless vehicles do have choices whenever something like that happens, but not all of them are that great.” For the next segment, the crew left for a stretch of sidings outside Knapford. “To be thematically appropriate, we’ve decided to talk about our advantages and disadvantages here in the Knapford Transport Court-area, where a vehicle charged with a crime will plead their case before a magistrate of the International Transport Court System. In most respects, non-faceless vehicles’ court systems aren’t too different from those of humans, at least in the Phoenix Wright universe; any vehicle charged is given the Right of Silence, or the Miranda Rights in America, are given a lawyer and are placed before the magistrate, a prosecutor and multiple witnesses, though more often than not, most if not all of these roles are filled by other engines.”

“Now listen; sure, it’s not always a non-faceless vehicle’s fault if their company goes under; there are multiple factors, like everything else in life,” said Edward as he steamed into the witness’s siding. “To demonstrate this point, and further elaborate on the rights available to non-faceless vehicles, allow me to turn to my pre-Sodor days, when I was a passenger engine on the Furness Railway’s Cumbrian Coast Line. Together with my old friends Winston and Albert, we ran a fast efficient operation. But unfortunately, despite our best efforts our branch would close and be bought up by a bigger company after a number of accidents, some more severe than others. On that day, our mournful manager gave us the three options extended to non-faceless engines in situations like this; relocation, retirement, or the Final Firing.”

“Relocation, in this context, simply means being sold off to another company,” said Sunset. “The only extension to this situation is that the vehicle in question must consent to be sold. This is a thing, believe it or not, thanks to the wording found in most anti-slavery laws. Yeah, crazy right? Anyway, Edward and his friends chose to be sold, with him and Winston leaving for Sodor while Albert went elsewhere.”

“This is naturally the most common option pursued as it’s seen as the best of the bunch,” said Edward. “But then there’s retirement; you choose that, you get two additional choices with that being where you want to retire to; a railway museum and become a collection-piece or a heritage railway, where you can take enthusiasts on tour until the end of your days. And then there’s the Final Firing.”

“However long it’s been debated whether or not a person has the right to take their own life if they want to is still unknown to me, but vehicles _do_ have that right, and once it’s pursued there’s no going back,” said Sunset, growing grim but serious. “The process is made possible by introducing a certain chemical to their systems. We’ve never been able to pronounce its actual scientific name, but it’s more commonly referred to as Black Water. Once this substance is introduced to a vehicle’s tanks, they fall into a deep sleep; one they don’t wake up from. After that, their systems can’t be restarted. Then and only then, can they be scrapped.”

“Many of you may be wondering ‘Why on Earth would we ever _choose_ to die’?” said Edward. “Honestly, I think the same can be said for humans; it’s fully situational. For example, maybe they’ve been so badly damaged that no amount of repairs are possible. Maybe they’re just too proud to retire. Or maybe it’s the only option they really have available. Whatever the case, when a vehicle says they want to go, that’s the end of it. An owner is required by law to comply.” For the next section, the crew was taken out to the suburbs outside Barrow.

“Behind us now tucked into the wilds of the Barrow-in-Furness suburbs is the symbol of the Vehicular Criminal justice system in Great Britain; Railgate Prison,” said Sunset, pointing to the large walled-off complex filled with tracks and a large parking lot. “A somewhat misleading title as it’s basically a glorified impound lot, storing any and all non-faceless vehicles or rolling stock that has committed a crime. There are places like this all over the world, and some of them actually make America’s Alcatraz look like a bed and breakfast. You may be familiar with the term ‘Shunted’ at this point. Naturally, it does just mean to shunt something, but in context, it also refers to when a non-faceless vehicle has been found guilty of a crime in court is imprisoned, either in a maximum security place like Railgate or on their own lines. Maximum penalty; thirty days.”

“Now that may seem like a slap on the wrist to humans, but when you account for the societal impact, it can be pretty severe,” said Edward as Alfred steamed toward them. “Here comes Alfred, so we’ll use him as a demonstration. Let’s say he did something wrong, was found guilty and was sent to Railgate. He runs a local passenger train around the area, so if he were shunted, who’d take the train? How would the commuters get to work?”

“Let’s try something a little closer to home,” said Sunset. “Say Phillip, our box-cab shunter at Knapford, was arrested. Who would organize the trains? As the work backed up, the line’s performance would surely suffer. This would likely jeopardize jobs and cause confusion and delay across the island. You get the picture, right? Vehicles, faceless or not, are made to provide a service, and they can’t exactly do that service in prison for years at a time, now can they?”

“The bigger question is ‘Does incarceration _work_ for non-faceless vehicles?’ Well, not always, but often enough, I suppose, that people still do it,” said Edward. “After all, isn’t that why humans keep locking up _their_ criminals? Food for thought, that.” And they thought about it all the way back to Tidmouth Sheds where the next segment was shot that evening.

“Okay, so by now, you’ve probably noticed that we haven’t exactly talked about why non-faceless vehicles are a thing in the first place,” said Sunset. “There’s a simple explanation for that; no one knows. Even though they’ve been a thing for the better part of three hundred years, very little research has been done on that matter.”

“This is because we vehicles are built to last,” said Edward. “Thus, we often live very long lifespans. And even when we do finally expire and an examination is conducted on our remains, they don’t tend to reveal much of value. Naturally, there are several theories as to how this is possible, and we’ll describe four of them for you. First, the Chemical Reaction Theory.”

“That one’s kinda self-explanatory because it says whenever a vehicle is fired up for the first time, the ensuing chemical reaction somehow causes life,” said Sunset. “That was the generally excepted theory until those guys started popping up.” She pointed with her thumb over to a siding filled with troublesome trucks. “Non-faceless rolling stock, who by the way have all the same rights as powered vehicles, added an extra layer of mystery to the whole topic and even started to call the validity of the First Firing into question altogether. Then we have the Attentive Theory.”

“This one puts forward the idea that a vehicle built with an extra layer of care and attention are the ones most likely to become sentient,” said Edward. “Though, I’ve always had some problems with that one as I believe it’s a bit… well, flowery for my liking. Furthermore, workers have argued that care and attention goes into the development of _all_ vehicles. If that’s the case, why doesn’t that mean _all_ vehicles come to life? Then we have the Revenant Theory.”

“This one is honestly kinda creepy for my liking because it says that all non-faceless vehicles are reincarnations of the long-dead,” said Sunset. “Plenty of people agree that this theory sounds completely crazy, but it _does_ have a lot of water to it. Looking back at Stephen’s Awakening, you probably noticed something kinda weird; he was barely even three minutes old, and he already knew how to talk, read and what he might like for his name. Like I said, that’s how it’s been every time a new non-faceless vehicle is born since; they wake up knowing how to speak, read, understand motion and colors and even their possible names. How is that possible for what’s basically a newborn if they haven’t already lived a full life? Though this theory has never actually ever been excepted, not just because it sounds so crazy, but because over the years, vehicles started appearing with weirder and weirder names. I don’t know about any of you but I’ve never met any _human_ preferring to be called ‘Splatter’ or ‘Dodge’. And last but not least, we have the Gold Dust Theory.”

“This theory states that every non-faceless vehicle, powered or not, has at least _some_ residue of the legendary magical substance commonly known as Gold Dust, believed by some to be a final gift from Merlin before he and the rest of the Court of Camelot faded into obscurity and legend,” said Edward. “When a vehicle or piece of rolling stock is first built, a very small amount of Gold Dust is introduced to their systems, and when their construction is finished, the Gold Dust imbues them with life. This theory was dismissed by most to be folk tales, but when Cold War scientists around the world looked into it deeper and began checking non-faceless vehicles and rolling stock, as well as the atmosphere, for Gold Dust… well, one can imagine the surprise they felt when they actually found it. Since then, this theory has been accepted as the norm.”

“Either way, I think that’s about it,” said Sunset. “Though a lot have people have asked us over the years; ‘Are we ever worried about the future? If there will ever come a time when vehicles like Edward or Thomas here are no longer useful’? And honestly, I think I speak for all of us when I say… no. After all, all good things must come to an end and we don’t think that’s anything to be scared of. It’s just the natural order. All the same, that’s why people tell the island’s stories; so that if that time ever _does_ come, we’ll be remembered regardless. And there are still plenty more to live through and tell, but that’s all for now. I’m Sunset Shimmer…”

“And I’m Edward,” said the old engine as he backed into his shed. “And until next time, farewell and remember the words of our number one. Thomas?”

“Just remember everyone; Little engines can do big things,” said Thomas and he gave a happy whistle just before the camera cut.

“Wonderful,” said Mr. Curtis. “This is perfect. Just wait until this comes out, you’ll all be even more famous.”

“Thank you, Mr. Curtis,” said Edward. “Have a good evening.” And with that, the crew left and the engines all went to sleep for the night, with the girls blissfully unaware of what would come to meet them come morning.


	17. Change with Time

The Island of Sodor has often been called the largest living history museum in the world, let alone Britain, not only due to the fact that almost all of the vehicles that work on it (rail or otherwise) have been heavily outdated for several decades but also because even though they have access to all the great technologies of the modern world, the people of the island still run most industries the way they did during the reign of King Edward VII and as many advantages as there are to that, it is still quite primitive to some, even locals.

Cider pressing was no exception as the fruit was still crushed, straw-wrapped and pressed with a massive wooden block, the press at Sweet Apple Acres being powered by the flywheel of the Vicarage’s old traction engine Trevor. As a matter of fact, cider season was fast approaching so Applejack and her family were working as hard and fast as they could to get their product out soon. Rainbow was there too, because the Apple-Smith Family cider was so famous to the people of the island, not to mention plain delicious, that she and many others had essentially become addicted.

But as was Apple-Smith family law; if you wanted a taste of the first bite of cider, you needed to work for it which Rainbow had done by helping set up the apples to be pressed and had just lashed the slip-belt between Trevor’s flywheel and the press-screw. “There we go. All set, AJ!” she called.

“Alright, nice work Dash! How’s he doin’ Jem?!” yelled Applejack.

“All good to go, Abby!” replied Jem Cole, Trevor’s driver.

“Alright then, get ‘er goin’ Trev!” AJ yelled.

“Right ya are,” Trevor wheeshed as he spun his flywheel, bringing the headblock crushing down on top of the 1-ton bale, and sending the juice splashing down into the meshed water barrel.

Rainbow licked her lips as the juice went through the filter, already more than ready for a good drink. Applejack chuckled at her old friend. “Keep yer pants on, Dash.  Ya know it’s gonna take a few months.”

“Yeah-yeah, I know. I just love this stuff too bad,” said Rainbow. Then a familiar whistle was heard outside.

“Morning Trevor!” The old traction engine smiled and gave a cheerful whistle in reply.

“Morning James!” And indeed the large red engine and Rarity had just rumbled through with a morning commuter train, which they then pulled to a sleek smooth stop at Wellsworth Station.

“Welcome to Wellsworth everyone,” Rarity said into the radio in James’ cab. “The porters will see to your baggage and if you’ll please present your tickets to the guard and the stationmaster, they’ll see to your passage into town.” Once she hung up, she walked out from the cab and stretched her back, smiling when Starlight walked over along with the porters and Stationmaster Matthews.

“Right on time guys,” she said happily.

“As usual,” James smirked. “And you have the rails to thank for that, Starlight. I must say I don’t think the line down from Maron has been this smooth since the 1970s. Has it been repaired recently?”

“Just last week actually.” she smiled. “Donald and Douglas were complaining about the rough ride in on Track 3, so Sir Topham Hatt got the repair crew out here soon as he could and redid all three lines.”

“Well then, I shall be sure to send all of them our deepest regards.” Rarity smiled. Then she noticed a large group of people on Platform 2, across from where the two girls were talking. “Say… who are they?”

Starlight looked across and was surprised as well. “I don’t know. They weren’t there before.”

“Have any other trains come in recently?” asked James.

“Well, there’s nothing on the schedule,” Starlight said, checking her clipboard. “And even if there were, those guys just… appeared outta nowhere. Think we should look into it?”

“I don’t think so, Darling,” Rarity shrugged. “If they want to come forward with their business, we should let them make that decision. And even then, I doubt very much that they’d want to do that to railway personnel.” Suddenly, the guard blew his whistle. “And besides, that’s our cue to go.”

“Oh right. You got your token?” Starlight’s question was quickly answered by Rarity producing a steel-cable loop with a small metal plate locked onto it.

“It is regulation, is it not?” Rarity smiled as she jumped back into James’ cab. “Au revoir, darling!” James gave two sharp toots on his whistle and steamed away down the line with his coaches clattering along behind him. Starlight waved goodbye to the old red engine with a smile on her face, but when she looked across the line between the coaches to see about the strange group on the other platform, she saw them through one carriage gap, but through the next; gone in an instant. She was deeply confused and rather cross at this.

James and Rarity didn’t have to worry about that though; they just had to worry about making it to Cronk on time. But unfortunately, it appeared they would be a bit delayed as a wooden horse-cart was stuck on the ungated dirt crossing up ahead. “Oh dear. This might be a rather tough delay.”

“Best stop, James. I’ll alert the passengers.” Rarity said worriedly.

“On it.” With that, James eased to a slow stop just a few feet before the soil while Rarity passed a message of what was happening. Once that was made, she and James smiled at whose cart it was. The young man on the reigns was a tall thin green-eyed fellow with brilliant orange hair and a few freckles, while the woman in the back checking the cargo was a shorter, more plump woman with rose eyes and bright crimson hair with a lighter stripe in it. Both were dressed as bakers, which made plenty of sense as they were Carlo and Sherrie Cake, better known as Carrot Cake and Cup Cake (or just Mr. and Mrs. Cake), some of the best bakers on the island with a shop in Ffarquhar at the corner of Sugar Lane and Cube Drive, which they affectionately named Sugarcube Corner. In fact, they even rented out their shop’s upstairs loft for Pinkie Pie to have a place to lay her head and tend to the couple’s twins if it was required.

“Oh Rarity. Great to see you again.” Mr. Cake smiled.

“The pleasure is truly all mine, Mr. Cake,” said Rarity as she disembarked and gave the bakers a courteous bow. “Though I must ask, is there something wrong?”

“Whew. That’s putting it mildly honey,” Mrs. Cake sighed as she wiped her brow. “Our cart’s tongue cracked and we’ve got a _very_ important delivery to get to Brendam.”

“Really? Well, how about that? We’re on our way to Brendam as well.” James smiled. “Just load your cargo into the luggage van and we’ll have you there as quick as we can.”

“Thank you, James. We’d be lost without you engines.” Mr. Cake smiled. Soon the cart was given a temporary fix enough to load it into the van. Once the van was closed, the crossing was deemed clear and James steamed the rest of the way to Brendam Station.

“Brendam Station!” James called and the passengers disembarked happily, including the Cakes who rolled their cart out onto the platform with aid from Sunset, who was there to help the yard shunting engine Porter with marshaling trains.

Sunset herself grew a bit worried when she saw the state the Cakes’ cart was in; it looked incredibly haphazard, almost like it might fall apart at any moment. “Oh wow. Uh, sorry about this Mr. Cake; I know this thing means a lot to you, but it looks almost as ancient as Stephen.”

“Oh, it is. It was my three-times great-grandfather’s, so it’s seen its fair share of action,” he said proudly. “But don’t worry; the old girl’s more than tough enough for work.” Unfortunately, one good knock to the handrail was all it took for the cart to start to break apart. Quickly Sunset helped unload it just before it broke apart on the platform.

Luckily no one was hurt and the baked goods were all undamaged, but the cart was in pieces. Mr. Cake gave a nervous chuckle. “Then again, I suppose there’s nothing wrong with swapping it out for something newer.”

Sunset gave an understanding smile to the baker as she set some of his cargo down on a crate nearby. “Well lucky for you, Dockmaster Celaeno is working on selling off her old fleet of transport vans from the 40s. And since everyone knows you guys are proud of how you operate in a retro fashion, I’m sure she’d be more than willing to give you one.”

“Well, if you think so, I’ll take one.” Mr. Cake smiled.

“Alright then.” Sunset smiled as she pulled out her walkie-talkie. “Uh, Ms. Celaeno, you remember that one Ford panel truck you’ve got tucked away in the back of the garage?”

“ _Yeah, why?_ ” the dockmaster replied.

“Well, I think I know a couple of bakers who might be willing to take it off our hands,” Sunset said with a smirk in her voice.

Celaeno chuckled over the radio. “ _I’ll meet them by the platform with the truck and the purchase paperwork._ ”

“10-4, I’ll pass it along,” said Sunset as she put away her walkie. “She’ll only be a second.” In reality, it took about five minutes for the dockmaster; a Greek woman with raspberry eyes and bright green hair and prosthetic right leg to make it to the station with the old lorry, a clipboard with insurance papers under her arm and a pen in her hand.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Cake.” Celaeno smiled as she shook his hand. “Do tell, what happened to the old cart?”

“Ah, ‘fraid the old girl’s lived to the end of her days. But on the plus side, at least the wood-burning stove at the bakery is gonna have more fuel.” Mr. Cake smiled. “Oh, that reminds me. We actually came here with a delivery for that cruise-liner that came in last night; fresh cake. Trade you for the truck?”

“Deal.” Celaeno smiled as she took the delivery form from Mr. Cake and placed it on the board. “I’ve been expecting this delivery all day today.” A quick signature and the cake was in the dockmaster’s hands to be handed off to the captain of the ship later on.

With that done, Mr. Cake signed off on the insurance forms for the lorry purchase and shook hands with the dockmaster. “Pleasure doing business with ya, Celaeno.” he smiled as they shook hands.

“Same to you, pal.” And with that, the Cakes boarded their new lorry and drove away. Suddenly the captain’s radio went off.

“ _Uh Ms. Celaeno, this is Boyle at Birth 12._ ” the worker on the other end said. “ _We’ve got kind of a problem over here._ ”

“What kind of problem, Boyle?” she asked.

“ _Well you’ll never believe this, but a Celtic war-ship just came in and the captain asked us to tie them off at the jetty,_ ” Boyle replied.

That certainly confused the others. “A Celtic war-ship? At Brendam Docks?” Rarity asked.

James rolled his eyes. “Bubbling boilers. Marion is going to _love_ this.” he groaned. And rightly so, because if he knew the China Clay Pits rail steam-shovel like he thought he did, she would jump off the tracks onto the jetty if it meant she could get a chance to see the ship up-close.

“Well, we’ll have to make sure no one tells her about this.” Rarity shrugged.

“You do know how quickly word gets around on this island, right Rarity?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, I’m aware but-” Rarity’s comment was interrupted when she saw the design on the sails of the Celtic ship from the platform. “Hang on. Is it me or does that design look familiar?”

Sunset looked herself and raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Yeah. Where have I seen that before?”

“Well, I know this is the first time _I’ve_ seen it,” Celaeno said as she walked away. “How long do they want to be in port, Boyle?”

“ _According to their captain, ‘as long as it takes’,_ ” he replied. “ _Whatever that means._ ”

“Well, try and keep them on-board as long as you can,” Celaeno said with authority. “I’ll want to talk to their captain when I get there.”

“ _Aye-aye, ma’am,_ ” Boyle replied. Clearly, things on Sodor this year were shaping up to be… interesting to say the least.


	18. Ghost Train

Halloween was always a huge deal on the Island of Sodor, never mind the setup for it. The engines and their ride-alongs always liked this season; there was always something spooky or funny hiding around a corner, not to mention Sir Topham Hatt’s fireworks show.

A week before Halloween, the engines were all at Tidmouth Sheds with the girls talking about their plans for the holiday evening. “Can we expect you and Percy to be at the party, Pinkie?”

“You know it!” Pinkie smiled. “We’re getting our mail-run done early next week.”

“And a good thing too,” Edward said thoughtfully. “I hear there’s going to be a snowstorm tonight.”

“Just my luck.” Thomas groaned. He always did hate his snowplow. “I just hope Donald and Douglas will be on duty tomorrow.”

“Yes, I agree. Especially because that sort of weather around now always reminds me of Timothy.” Edward reminisced.

“That oil-burning steamer from the clay pits?” Sunset asked in confusion.

“No, the other one.” Edward clarified. “I’ve told you about him, haven’t I?”

“I don’t think we have, Edward,” Gordon said, trying to remember.

“I think we’d remember hearin’ about another Timothy on this line,” added Emily.

“Agreed.” Applejack remarked.

“Do you want to hear about him?” asked Edward.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Henry.

“You never change history with ignorance, old boy.” Edward reminded.

“Why would you want to change history?” asked Percy. “Did this other Timothy do something wrong?”

“I’m afraid that’s putting it mildly,” replied Edward.

**And this was the story he told…**

Timothy was an experimental tank engine for the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway; a prototype E2 class, in fact, with white paint and a number 0 on his boiler. And without question, he was one of the meanest engines anyone had ever met, always grilling engines on being late or making mistakes. Although Edward always thought he was projecting as the controller of the W&SR never dared speak to him, and the workman who did on his behalf… well, he wasn’t the nicest of people either, doing to Timothy what he did to the others. It’s believed that this was what caused his downfall.

It was late October 1918, when he had to take a fast local. The snow had delayed him, along with a few late passengers and they put him in a ripe-old state. A few witnesses on the platform at the time had testified to seeing the workman board the train and once he had, Timothy smiled and his eyes suddenly flashed red. Once he was cleared to leave, he couldn’t do so fast enough. Eager to make up for lost time and get back at his tormentor, he thundered down the line at a criminally reckless speed. But his plan came to fruition sooner than he had suspected.

The viaduct was undergoing last-minute maintenance that night and before anyone could switch the points to send Timothy down the main line, he shot over them. Coupled with the icy rails, poor visibility, and his apparent insanity, it was hardly a mystery what happened next.

**Leave the story**

All the engines were gobsmacked, as were the girls as they knew what this meant. “He… crashed?” asked Fluttershy.

“Shot right off the ripped-up rails on the viaduct,” Edward confirmed. “He and his coaches rolled nearly a hundred yards along the river before they stopped. And that’s not even the worst thing that happened.”

“What could be worse than that?” James would regret asking that question in a second.

“His crew was the only ones to make it overboard,” Henry replied, sending everyone into a shocked silence, even driving Rarity to faint into Sunset’s arms.

“Well, what about Timothy?” Rainbow asked. “Was he okay?”

“No, he was scrapped,” Gordon replied. “Once he shot off the viaduct, he died once he hit the bank and the tumble turned his body into a mangled wreck that hardly resembled an engine.”

“And it didn’t stop there either,” remarked Henry.

“What do you mean?” asked Thomas.

“Come now Henry, you can’t believe that.” Gordon rolled his eyes.

“How many people have seen it, Gordon? How many?” Henry asked. “They can’t all be wrong.”

“They can’t all be _right_ , either.” Gordon retorted.

“What’re you guys talking about?” asked Sunset.

Gordon gave a defeated sigh; Edward told the beginning of the story, he may as well finish it for him. “After the viaduct was fully repaired and the wreck was cleared up, some of the workmen still on-site claimed to have seen the ghost of Timothy’s train,” he explained to a shocked audience. “And the rumor-mill says that he runs again every ten years after his crash, screaming like a banshee to try and make the workman suffer as much as possible for making _him_ suffer.”

“Ghost trains? Are ya kiddin’?” Emily asked. “I’ve been on this island 50 years and I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Exactly. Thank you, Emily,” said Gordon, relieved at her common sense.

“Just out of curiosity, when-?” Pinkie asked.

“Three days. So watch your bunker.” Henry answered.

“Henry please, stop being so ridiculous,” Gordon growled.

“What, you don’t believe in ghosts Gordon?” asked Twilight.

“No, I don’t. And until I see one for myself, I will remain a skeptic.” Gordon replied as he reversed further into his shed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed. Good night, fellows.” Of course, having told that story, he didn’t sleep well. And neither did any of the others.

The next three days passed with little event other than clearing tracks of snow (a job Thomas loathed being picked to take part in) and working deliveries of the usual cargo as well as decorations for the Halloween party. The third night, Percy and Pinkie had to take a train of tankers to the Dieselworks from the depot at Cronk.

After crossing the viaduct, the little engine heard a loud shallow whistle. “Who was that?” he asked.

“Not sure,” replied Pinkie. Suddenly her Pinkie Sense started acting up again; her knees started pinching, which meant something scary was about to happen. And it was right as suddenly a rusty white tank engine shot past hauling a line of old broken coaches at insane speeds.

“Bust my buffers!” Percy cried as the train passed. “Slow down! You’ll derail going like-!” Suddenly there was indeed the sound of a loud crash coming from the viaduct. “Pounding pistons! Pinkie, did you-?”

“Yep, that was a train-crash alright!” Pinkie said frightened.

“It was a passenger train too. We have to go help.” Percy said and quickly reversed back to the viaduct. But when they arrived, they were both surprised and confused to see no wreck anywhere near the bridge. “What the-? Where’s the wreck?”

“I dunno.” Pinkie said, quickly jumping out of the cab and looking around. “This is too weird.”

“You… _did_ hear the wreck, right?” Percy asked.

“Of course I did.” Pinkie replied before turning to the tankers. “You guys saw a train go by too, right?”

The tankers all agreed that they had, which only made matters more confusing. “There’s no rubble anywhere,” Percy said in confusion. “No sign of any damage anywhere.”

“Maybe we heard wrong.” one of the trucks suggested.

“We all heard wrong the sound of a train wreck?” asked the guard. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“Agreed,” Percy added.

“Well, do you have any other ideas?” the first truck asked. Suddenly Pinkie went rigid as a board as it came to her.

“Pinkie?” Percy asked. “Are you alright?”

“M-M-M- Maybe it was Timothy’s ghost!” she suggested shuddering, and not just from the cold. “Henry said this is around the time he starts appearing.”

“Ah don’t be daft.” said the guard. “It was probably just our minds playing tricks on us.”

I wish I could’ve agreed with that guard, really I do, but the residents of the Cronk outskirts living near the bridge also heard the crash and came out in droves to investigate and were just as confused as Percy’s train when they didn’t find anything. Among them was a reporter for _The London Times_ who, after conducting research and interviews, published an article about Timothy’s wreck and the ghost story that went along with it.

After it broke, there was a massive spike in the number of alleged sightings all up and down the line. Throughout this time, Gordon remained skeptical and convinced that these sightings were merely the power of suggestion. Rainbow thought otherwise; after all, if she and the girls had Equestrian Magic, then it stood to reason that some _other_ sort of magic could be the reason for Timothy running this year.

And their encounter at Maron Station did little to alter the fact that there was definitely something crazy going on. “So Rainbow, any news of your sister?”

“Prism Strike?” Rainbow asked. “Eh, Nah. She’s still livin’ it up in America. She’s still waiting on that new Aladdin movie.”

“I still don’t exactly understand that story,” Gordon said simply. “I mean, what are the odds of that actually happening?”

“Eh, I’d say pretty good,” Rainbow replied vaguely. Suddenly, they heard that strange whistle as well. “Wait, who’s that?”

“I don’t know,” Gordon answered in confusion. Then that same rusty train rumbled into the station and came to a slow stop at the platform. “Huh. That’s odd. I thought James was due in next.”

“He is,” Rainbow said, looking at the schedule. “Hang tight, I’m gonna go get to the bottom of this.” With that, she walked up to the engine’s cab to speak with the crew. “Scuse me, you’re not on the schedule. Who gave you clearance to stop here?” But the driver didn’t even seem to notice she was there. Nor did the fireman. “Hey, I’m talkin’ to you, pal.” But they still wouldn’t listen. “Ugh! Gordon, would you mind?”

“Not a bit,” Gordon replied as he steamed out of the siding he was resting in and pulled up alongside the engine. “Good evening, my friend. Would you mind explaining why you’ve stopped here?” The engine only gave long raspy breaths, but Gordon did notice that his face was very scuffed-up, and one of his eyes looked like it had been stabbed out, not to mention the poor condition of his coaches and paintwork. “Bubbling boilers. What happened to you, old man?” The engine still didn’t respond, it just looked at the big express engine with its still open eye and kept giving raspy breaths. Gordon rolled his eyes. “It’s no good, Rainbow. I’d be better off trying to have a conversation with the platform.”

“Alright forget it, I’ll keep trying,” Rainbow replied, turning back to the crew. “Cmon guys, outta the cab. We need to talk to the stationmaster.” Still no response, though Rainbow did notice that these men were very gaunt and wearing tattered clothes. “I’m warning you, palsy; either you do as I say or you both lose your-” Rainbow didn’t get to complete her thought as a loud scream echoed from down the platform, making her jump. “JESUS! What was that?!” The scream had come from the woman who had dared to press her face to the shadowy broken window of one of the coaches. Rainbow quickly went to check on her and, daring though she may have been, didn’t dare to tempt fate by looking herself as the woman had suddenly become hysterical and her face turned white as the snow surrounding the station. In response to the scream, all the other passengers jumped ten feet, no one daring to look.

Then Gordon saw something utterly horrifying; one of the curls of peeling paint on the engine’s tank started unrolling revealing its number… 0. Gordon started shaking in fear as he realized who this engine was. “T-T- Timothy?”

The engine looked at Gordon and its eye suddenly turned red. Then and only then did it speak, in a chilling ghostly voice. “ _Hello… Gordon._ ”

Suddenly another whistle echoed toward the platform; one which Rainbow quickly recognized. “Oh great, _now_ James decides to run on time?” she groaned. And indeed, James and Rarity were thundering down the line with their evening passenger train. Quickly Rainbow grabbed up a red lamp, turned it on and started waving it like a danger flag. “James! Stop! Stop!”

“What?” James asked, before suddenly looking at the platform. “Fizzling fireboxes!” Quickly, the red engine slammed on the brakes as hard as he could as Rarity bunkered down inside his cab. Suddenly, just before James crashed into Timothy’s train, the white engine let loose a loud screech and disappeared in a puff of black smoke, letting James coast through it to a stop, landing right where the ghost once stood.

Both engines were rendered speechless by what they had just seen, but Rarity was more confused than anything else as she quickly stood up and looked.

“You okay, Rarity?” Rainbow asked as she helped her friend out of her engine’s cab.

“Th- There was… there was a train here, wasn’t there?” she asked.

“I think so.” Rainbow shrugged.

“And then… there wasn’t?” Rarity asked.

“Right again, Rare.” Rainbow looked sternly at the platform.

“H- H-?” Rarity stuttered clearly trying to ask how.

“Search me. I’m just as clueless as you are.” Rainbow shrugged.

“Did- Did we just see a ghost?” Rarity asked.

“Seems that way,” Rainbow replied.

“Th-then it’s true. Timothy’s ghost haunts the line!” James finally said.

“I can’t think of any other explanation,” Gordon replied, his voice returning as well. Then he sighed. “It appears I owe Henry an apology.”

Unfortunately, this incident would make headlines across Sodor, made even worse by the fact that the woman who had looked into Timothy’s coaches had lost her mind and was sent to a mental institution. Passenger business and festive thinking for Halloween plummeted as passengers started avoiding the engines like the plague, not to mention a few goods clients. Many other engines reported seeing the ghost train, causing a massive fall in morale.

Finally, the situation became unbearable and several engines were forced to come together at the shunting yard two days before Halloween to devise a plan. “Alright, we all know why we’re here.” Edward started.

“No Edward, we don’t.” Diesel said disrespectfully. “Why don’t you remind us?”

“Cork it, Diesel!” Sunset growled crossly. “I am not in the mood for your nonsense right now!”

“Okay, sorry!” Diesel replied, a bit frightened. “Grease and oil, aren’t we touchy?”

“Thank you Sunset, but please try to control yourself,” Edward said sternly. “Now then, this… ghost train… has been terrorizing our line for far too long. And it’s time we stop it.”

“How?” asked Twilight. “Scientifically speaking, ghosts don’t exist.”

“Tell that to the guys at the looney-bin,” Rainbow replied. “From what I’ve heard, that lady’s gone vegetative from fright.”

“Precisely,” Edward replied. “So as far as this situation is concerned, there’s no such thing as a bad idea. Suggestions?”

“Why don’t we have the Vicar perform an exorcism?” suggested Thomas.

“Ah already checked. He doesn’t do ‘em.” Applejack replied.

“What about Reverend Awdry?” asked Fluttershy. “Is he due back anytime soon?”

“Not until Christmas service.” Rarity recalled. “And we can’t wait that long.”

“Do you think we could try… talking to him?” suggested Percy. “Maybe we could just ask him to leave.”

“About that, Percy…” Gordon chimed in. “The engine you saw… What did he look like?”

“Big, white, red stripes, number 0… and very rusty.” Pinkie remembered.

“Really?” Henry asked surprised. “You sure?”

“Yeah, why?” Pinkie asked.

“That doesn’t sound like Timothy to me,” Edward replied. “He was more obsessed with his appearance than James. He never let his bodywork rust.”

“Well, we _are_ dealing with a ghost. Maybe you just… let yourself go when you die.” Sunset suggested.

“The night we saw him, we _did_ hear a crash near the viaduct,” Percy remembered.

“And the ghost we saw _was_ pulling W&SR carriages,” Gordon remembered. “That can hardly be a coincidence.”

“Hate to be such a Negative Nancy,” Alice chimed in. “But we still haven’t discussed how we’re going to get rid of the blasted thing.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Twilight said thoughtfully.

“You have something, Twilight?” asked Edward.

“Maybe,” she replied. She turned to Percy. “You said you _heard_ the crash right?”

“Kinda hard to miss,” Percy replied.

“Then that says he’s doomed to repeat his fate until the end of the week.” Twilight pondered. “If we can stop him tonight _before_ he makes it to the viaduct, maybe he’ll leave.”

“How?” asked Gordon.

“Simple. We tell him he doesn’t have to take his train.” Twilight replied. “No train, no mean workman, no running off the viaduct. Then Bing-bang-boom; everything’s back to normal.”

“Capital idea, Twilight.” said Gordon “But if we want it to work, we’ll need to find someone he respects enough to take orders from. Someone who was around when he died.”

“Well, who’s that?” asked Pinkie. Everyone looked around at each other as they came to the consensus.

“There is no way in that he is gonna go for that.” Diesel barked.

Later, outside Cronk… “Are you out of your stinking minds?” asked an elderly man.

“Toldja so.” Diesel said simply.

“Shut up.” Sunset rebuked.

“Mr. Druce, please,” said Edward. “If you’ll just let me explain-”

“What’s to explain, Edward?” Mr. Druce said. “You want me to go to my old station and meet one of the engines who used to work there, who’s been dead for the better part of a century mind you, and tell him to leave on the vague assumption he’ll do so?”

“Timothy always did strive to please you stationmasters, Mr. Druce.” Henry shrugged.

Mr. Druce sighed. “Yes, you’re right. Perhaps that’s what led to his downfall.”

“What do you mean, sir?” asked Gordon.

“We cultivated a good engine in him, and Maxwell always cut him right back down.” Mr. Druce remembered. “If it weren’t for us, or for him, maybe he wouldn’t have died. Which is why I’m so unwilling to go through with this.”

“What, you think he might have something against you?” asked Sunset.

“Exactly.” Mr. Druce replied. “He may hold me as responsible as Maxwell. What if he tries to take me, or- or run me over or something?”

“With all due respect sir, isn’t it at least worth a shot?” asked Rainbow. “If you don’t, we could end up having to close the railway. And then what would happen to these guys?”

Mr. Druce groaned. “Alright fine, I’ll do it. As a former stationmaster, I have an obligation to keep my platform clear of anything that could harm the passengers.”

“Thank you, sir,” Edward said in relief.

“Don’t thank me yet, Edward.” Mr. Druce replied as he walked over. “I’m still terrified of what might happen.”

“That’s rational, sir.” Sunset nodded. “We’re dealing with a ghost here, after all.”

That night, some of the engines were at Maron Station, watching the platform. “How ya feelin’, Mr. Druce?” asked Applejack.

“I’m not just shaking from the evening cold if that’s what you’re asking, Ms. Smith,” he replied as he walked to the platform.

“We really do appreciate this, sir.” Edward smiled.

“I know, but I’m still not sure about this.” the old man replied.

“That’s literally the definition of courage, sir.” Twilight smiled before turning to Rainbow. “Is everything ready?”

“Yep. Station’s cleared, all trains stopping here have been canceled, and Flynn and Rocky are on standby,” she replied.

“I don’t see how much help we’re gonna be here, Edward.” the crane pointed out.

“Ya never know.” Applejack shrugged.

Mr. Druce sighed as he looked out over the station he used to run. “You okay, sir?” asked Sunset.

“I was just wondering. Do you think any other train station on Earth has been closed because of a ghost?” he asked.

“I think we might be the first,” Sunset smirked.

“Yeah, what a way to leave a mark on history.” Diesel rolled his eyes. “Triumphs and blunders.”

“Diesel!” Sunset growled.

“Alright, alright, I’ll belt up.” the engine rolled his eyes. “But before I do, can I ask something?”

“Shoot,” Sunset replied.

“What if Timothy doesn’t show tonight?” Diesel asked.

This question was suddenly answered by the same ghostly whistle blowing from down the line. “I don’t think we’re that lucky,” Sunset replied. And indeed, Timothy’s ghost train suddenly came gliding into the station with the same haunting mangled face as the night Gordon saw it.

“Oh, heavens…” Mr. Druce said in terror.

“It’s all on you now, sir,” said Edward.

“Right.” Mr. Druce replied as he walked out in front of the ghost train. “Um, Timothy? Is that you?” The engine didn’t reply. He just stared at the old stationmaster, breathing raspily. Mr. Druce cleared his throat. “Well, um… I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here so late.” Timothy still didn’t answer, making Mr. Druce very uncomfortable. “I uh… have good news. I’ve managed to arrange for another engine to take your train on. You can go back to the sheds now.” The engine didn’t say anything, but at least the raspy breathing stopped. “Y- You understand, right? You can go now.”

That was apparently what the engine needed as the rust and facial damage suddenly started fading revealing the white tank engine in all his glory. “Thank you,” he said in a normal voice. Then he started glowing and disappeared, along with his coaches. Everyone was stunned.

“Did- Did it work?” asked Pinkie.

“I think so.” Applejack replied. This was met with lots of loud cheering from everyone.

“Tell me we got that on video!” Rainbow laughed.

“Every second. Man, no one is gonna believe this.” Sunset smiled as she put away her phone.

“Well done, Mr. Druce!” Edward smiled. “You’ve done it!”

“I’m honestly kind of shocked that worked,” said Mr. Druce.

“So am I, to be honest.” Twilight conceded. And for the longest time after that night, so was everyone else. The relief everyone felt was intense, as were the bragging rights Rainbow felt she and the girls had just scored for the Halloween party. Life gradually returned to normal on the island, and as time went by, the story of Timothy’s ghost was told over and over again, eventually falling into legend and then myth.

But everyone who was there that night will tell you that it was, in fact, truer than anything. And while they never saw the ghost again, who’s to say they won’t soon?


End file.
